Amazon’s new AI-enhanced voice assistant, Alexa+, is seeing expanded access. The company has begun informing users who enrolled in the Early Access program that they can now activate Alexa+. It has been several months since Amazon initially showcased the upgraded version of Alexa, announcing that it would begin distributing to the first group of users in March, with further rollout planned, prioritizing owners of Echo Show 8, 10, 15, and 21 devices.
An Amazon spokesperson indicated that “hundreds of thousands” of customers have experimented with Alexa+ so far. However, for those who received Alexa+ in the initial Early Access phase, the assistant was lacking many features highlighted during its February announcement. The Washington Post, referencing internal company documents, reported that this was because the tools did not yet meet Amazon’s public release standards. Amazon’s Early Access signup page includes a footnote stating that some features shown are still under development.
According to an Amazon email sent Friday to the latest group of users, activation and setup of Alexa+ is required on only one device. Subsequently, any other compatible devices owned will automatically be upgraded. Alexa+ is described as more conversational and able to handle more complex tasks than the original assistant.
