A year ago, Amazon announced that it was introducing a newer, AI-powered version of Alexa by way of Alexa+, which comes with more smart assistant capabilities tailored for a more personalized experience for users. Following this, the update is now rolling out for more users worldwide.
More specifically, the Alexa+ update is arriving for users in the United Kingdom, making the region the first within Europe to get the new AI version of the assistant. Interestingly, Amazon says that Alexa+ will work in a way where it’s more tuned for users in the UK, such as being able to recognize regional slang, nuances in dialects, all the way to how calendar dates are pronounced.
Amazon says that Alexa+’s smarts are built using Amazon Bedrock’s LLMs; like Gemini and ChatGPT, it’s designed to have a more natural conversational flow and will also be able to tap into different software and hardware products to perform actions, such as ordering food from Uber Eats, planning a playlist with Spotify, activating lights via Philips Hue, and more.
As for availability, Alexa+ will roll out for users in the UK starting on March 19th via a free early access program, which will cost £19.99 per month afterwards. Meanwhile, Prime members will have access to it for free. Additionally, customers who buy a new eligible Echo device in the UK will get Early Access, and customers who already have a compatible device can also sign up to receive an invite.
In addition to Echo devices, Alexa+ will also be available on on compatible Fire TV devices and soon on web browsers.
