Amazon makes Alexa+ AI assistant available to everyone in the U.S. nearly a year after launch

Amazon connected Wednesday announced it's making Alexa+ disposable to everyone successful the U.S., astir a twelvemonth aft it launched a revamped mentation of its digital assistant.

Alexa+ has been successful an "early access" preview since past March, meaning consumers had to articulation a waitlist oregon acquisition newer devices to usage the generative artificial intelligence-powered dependable assistant.

Amazon has pitched the work arsenic a souped up mentation of its 11-year-old Alexa that tin grip aggregate queries astatine a time, and service arsenic an "agent" that takes actions connected your behalf, similar booking a repairman oregon an Uber ride.

Starting connected Wednesday, Amazon volition statesman charging users $19.99 a period to entree Alexa+. The work remains escaped for Prime subscribers who wage $139 a twelvemonth for a membership, and is escaped for anyone to effort via an Alexa+ website and app.

Access to the escaped Alexa+ acquisition volition beryllium "limited based connected use," Amazon said.

Daniel Rausch, Amazon's vice president of Alexa and Echo, said successful an interrogation that tens of millions of consumers are utilizing Alexa+.

Amazon is overhauling its Alexa work successful effect to the emergence of AI chatbots similar OpenAI's ChatGPT, Google's Gemini and Anthropic's Claude.

Launched successful 2014, the archetypal Alexa wowed users by letting them chat with, and get contiguous responses from, a integer adjunct by utilizing their voice. Users chiefly interacted with Alexa done Amazon's Echo astute speaker.

With Alexa+, Amazon has enactment a website and app beforehand and center. Most users interact with chatbots similar ChatGPT oregon Gemini via substance oregon dependable connected web browsers oregon smartphone apps.