On Wednesday, 4 February 2026, Amazon rolled out Alexa+, a generative AI upgrade to its voice assistant, Alexa, in the US, giving users access to a service that can schedule appointments, analyse emails, and interact with connected devices—a direct challenge to rivals like ChatGPT and Google Gemini. This move comes after less than a year of testing in a closed Early Access program.
“Throughout Early Access, customers have been giving us valuable feedback to help shape Alexa+. We learned customers continue to rely on Alexa as they always did, but they’re also embracing that this is not the same old Alexa,” Daniel Rausch, Amazon’s vice president of Alexa and Echo, said in a blog post.
“It’s still early, but what’s clear is Alexa+ is making life easier and more delightful for customers,” Rausch added.
Prime members in America get the upgrade at no additional cost. Non-Prime members will get free but limited access to Alexa+, "through a new free chat experience at Alexa.com and in the Alexa app. This experience features a text-based chat interface to get quick answers, plan, research, and explore new topics. Access to the free Alexa+ experience will be limited based on use."
They can pay a $19.99 monthly fee to get the full experience. Amazon didn’t publicly comment on when Alexa+ will expand outside the US.
Jemi Motesho
Unlike earlier versions of Alexa, which relied largely on predefined responses and narrow task execution, Alexa+ is built on a generative AI architecture designed to handle more complex, multi-step interactions.
Amazon said the assistant uses a combination of large language models rather than a single system from both Amazon Nova and Anthropic. Some AI models are optimised for speed and voice responsiveness, while others are used for reasoning-intensive tasks. The company has described the Alexa+ as “model-agnostic,” drawing on both Amazon-developed models and third-party technology.
“Alexa+ builds on what customers have always loved about Alexa, but it’s also completely new and significantly more capable—it's smarter, more conversational, more personalised, and can get a wide range of things done on your behalf,” Rausch said.
The pricing structure shows how closely Alexa+ is tied to Amazon’s broader subscription strategy. By bundling the service with Prime, Amazon effectively grants its over 180 million Prime members free access to a premium AI assistant.
“We understand that a truly useful personal assistant needs to connect with services that customers rely on every day. Every new integration … brings Alexa+ closer to handling more of life’s everyday tasks,” Daniel Rausch said.
Amazon was slower than its rivals to bring agentic AI assistants to market, coming after AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini had already gained widespread use. But Amazon’s existing hardware of millions of Echo devices already in U.S. homes gives Alexa+ an immediate platform for adoption.
Damilare Odedina
