I’m well known as a “hardware guy,” so when I got the link from Amazon for some announcements on Feb. 25th, I hoped there would be some new Alexa devices. Spoiler alert: There weren’t any.
If not devices, then what? As widely rumored, the focus of the announcements was the introduction of wide-ranging uses for AI-driven applications that will greatly expand the capabilities of queries to Amazon Alexa devices and the scope and nature of the responses. Equally important, the new version of Alexa, called “Alexa+” is more interactive, conversational, and able to do many more things than simply answer questions, show news and sports scores and set timers and alarms.
To be fair, some of what Alexa+ does is similar to what other AI agents can do, but the integration of AI with customer-specific personal databases and histories, textual awareness, and extensions not only to Alexa services and content such as Amazon Music and Prime Video but also to a wide range of third-party service, product and content partners ranging from Uber Eats and GrubHub to Samsung, Wyze and Honeywell to Thumbtack and OpenTable make it more personalized than ever before.
The ability to do this by voice-query directly to an Alexa device is a strong point here. It should be noted that you will also be able to use it through a web browser and the Alexa phone/tablet app, as well as through compatible FireTV devices and Fire tablets. First to receive the update to Alexa+ will be the Echo Show 8,10, 15, and 21 models when the rollout begins in March. (U.S. only for now.)
Going forward, it will roll out to most other Echo products, including non-screen, audio-only devices. Given the presumption that this requires processor power beyond some of the earlier devices, Alexa+ will not be available on older generation Echo Dot 1st Gen, Echo 1st Gen, Echo Plus 1st Gen, Echo Tap, Echo Show 1st Gen, Echo Show 2nd Gen, and Echo Spot 1st Gen models. Phone and computer apps will also be available to work with Alexa+. Note, also, that for now, Alexa+ will work only with Amazon’s own Alexa/Echo products, and it will not be available with third-party “Works with Alexa” products. All non-compatible Alexa products will continue to work with the current “classic” version of Alexa.
Now that you have the basics, the natural question is, “What new benefits will this bring me?” On the information side, the conversational ability will let you initiate a search question and then talk with Alexa+ to drill down to specifics, such as selecting a repair service from a list of companies, making an appointment, putting the appointment on your calendar, and sending you reminders. Another example is looking for tickets to a concert, asking what is available at Ticketmaster, finding when the seats you want are available, and notifying you to buy them. Of course, that, too, may be added to your calendar with reminders sent. Even better, the full calendar and events will be visible on your Echo Show device.
As one might do with other AI applications, with Alexa+, you can load documents, have them stored, and then use them for queries and reminders. An example given was loading in a homeowners’ association rules document and then having Alexa+ advise you if you are allowed to install solar panels or remind you of meetings and similar. Or, provided that you have set up the data feeds to the LLM, you can ask Alexa+ to summarize emails from a particular sender and then ask questions about them, such as “When is the school play, and what am I supposed to bring for the afterparty refreshments? You can even go one step further and add those items to a shopping list or order them for delivery.
As one might expect from Amazon, given their major presence in both entertainment content and home systems, Alexa+ and what will become your personal LLM will be a key part of the new features. On a fairly simple side, you can use Alexa+ to move audio content from one speaker in a room to one side or the other or to a different room in the house. Or, you can tell it to play music “everywhere but don’t wake the baby” without specifying the specific room. Do you want to play the song heard during a TV show’s credits? Alexa+ can search for it without knowing the artist or song title. For video content, it can jump to a specific scene in a movie.
It should come as no surprise that integration with other Amazon services, such as Ring or shopping from Whole Foods, Amazon Fresh, and, of course, Amazon itself. Ring devices. You may ask Alexa+ if any packages have been delivered and at which door they were left. Then, you will not only be able to see the footage from a Ring camera but also use the integration to tell you what the package is.
There is much more to this, and as is the case with any AI-based system the capabilities will grow as the LLM gets smarter from your data, queries, experiences and other inputs. Of course, also as with any AI system there will be concerns about privacy and perhaps potential issues with hallucinations. Time will tell if how that side of things play out.
At the same time, Alexa+ isn’t the only game in town, along with existing competitors such as Chat GPT, Google’s Gemini, Microsoft’s CoPilot, and others. Particularly with the latter two being used to power TV sets Hisense and TCL (Gemini) and LG and Samsung (CoPilot), the competition isn’t standing still. Oh, and then there is Apple. This is certainly something that we expect to hear more about from them as they add new extensions to Siri, Home Kit, and rumored new products we expect to see in the coming months.
Last but not least, know that all this comes at a cost: $19.99 per month. The good news, however, is that Alexa+ is free for all Prime Members. Given that Prime now costs $14.99 per month or $139 for a one-year membership, you might see this as a great addition or a reason to sign up for Prime even if you don’t use any of the other benefits and save over $100 in the balance. Is all of this worth it, or are you satisfied with the current, classic Alexa feature set? That is a question the market at large will determine, and given this exposure to millions of Amazon Prime Members and their 500 million Alexa-enabled devices, it will determine as AI potentially moves into a more accessible role in those homes. Time will tell.
