Oliver Haslam·

Get Ready For Alexa+, An Upgraded, More Conversational Version Of Amazon’s Smart Assistant

If you’ve found yourself looking at the likes of ChatGPT and Gemini and wishing that Amazon’s Alexa could do something similar, you aren’t alone. But things are changing, and Amazon says that it’s getting ready to launch Alexa+.

The upgraded Alexa has been in development for years and the company says that it won’t be long before all of that work comes to fruition.

Engadget reports that Panos Panay, senior vice president of devices and services, has been showing off Alexa+ and it sounds like it’s got a lot to offer.

The report claims that the new Alexa+ can go so far as to sense things like tone and mood when listening to requests and commands before responding. That response will come in a new voice as well, one that we’re told is more natural than anything we’ve heard from Amazon to date. Contextual awareness is also a key aspect of the upgrade, Engadget reports.

Moreover, it’s only necessary to say “Alexa” once to wake the assistant, and it will then follow the conversation. Panay said Alexa+ has contextual awareness, with the ability to “remember” earlier parts of a conversation. “You can have almost any conversation — that intimidation factor of AI is gone.”

The report goes on to explain some of the demonstrations Amazon used to show what the new Alexa+ is capable of, including making a reservation using OpenTable before adding an event to a calendar. There’s also support for documents and more, but none of this will be free.

While Alexa+ will be included with Amazon Prime, it’ll also be available as a separate subscription that runs $20 per month. Early access should start rolling out next month with the full availability coming later.

You may also like to check out:

You can follow us on X, or Instagram, subscribe to our YouTube channel and even like our Facebook page to keep yourself updated on all the latest from Microsoft, Google, Apple, and the Web.