Amazon Reveals 97% of Its Devices Compatible with Alexa+

At last week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Amazon provided more details on how its AI platform aims to compete in the real world. Specifically, the company plans to capitalize on the widespread presence of its devices in households and consumers' existing familiarity with the Alexa brand.

"Ninety-seven percent of the devices we've ever shipped are compatible with Alexa+," stated Daniel Rausch, Vice President of Amazon Alexa and Echo, during a CES interview. He shared that Amazon has sold over 600 million devices to date, with the "vast majority" capable of supporting the upgraded AI assistant, Alexa+.

First announced earlier last year, Alexa+ represents Amazon's strategic move into the generative AI market. It features more expressive voice capabilities, access to global knowledge similar to other AI assistants, and AI agents that handle tasks for users—such as booking an Uber or ordering food. Amazon has been gradually expanding access to the platform, reaching over one million Alexa customers by last June. Now, "tens of millions" of users can opt in to upgrade to the new AI assistant.

Amazon has not set a specific date for the full rollout of Alexa+ but is prioritizing its availability to all Prime members first.

Beyond accessibility, Amazon must soon demonstrate that customers will actively use its AI. Rausch believes Alexa's established presence in homes will be a key advantage.

"I expect customers will have access to a wide variety of AI tools, with Alexa serving as one of the core assistants," he explained. While specialized AIs—such as those focused on legal support—will remain, Rausch anticipates a few "recognizable, foundational AIs with broad capabilities," positioning Alexa among them.

"Alexa benefits from customer familiarity and the tens of millions of users already interacting with it regularly," Rausch noted. "It’s ambiently available in the home through voice—the most natural interface. That’s where we see our growth opportunity," he added.

Join the Disrupt 2026 Waitlist

Secure your spot on the Disrupt 2026 waitlist to get early access when Early Bird tickets are released. Previous Disrupt events have featured industry leaders from Google Cloud, Netflix, Microsoft, Box, Phia, a16z, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Hugging Face, Elad Gil, and Vinod Khosla—part of more than 250 experts leading over 200 sessions designed to accelerate your growth and sharpen your competitive edge. You'll also have the chance to connect with hundreds of startups driving innovation across various industries.

Join the Disrupt 2026 Waitlist

Secure your spot on the Disrupt 2026 waitlist to get early access when Early Bird tickets are released. Previous Disrupt events have featured industry leaders from Google Cloud, Netflix, Microsoft, Box, Phia, a16z, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Hugging Face, Elad Gil, and Vinod Khosla—part of more than 250 experts leading over 200 sessions designed to accelerate your growth and sharpen your competitive edge. You'll also have the chance to connect with hundreds of startups driving innovation across various industries.

Amazon's home-focused strategy for Alexa comes as Apple partners with Google's Gemini to enhance Siri, while other AI chatbots like ChatGPT and Claude compete across diverse applications—from research and healthcare to coding and beyond.

Shortly before CES, Amazon introduced web access for Alexa and a redesigned app that highlights a chatbot-style interface. At the conference, Amazon partners including Samsung, BMW, and Oura showcased their integrations with Alexa.

The company also highlighted its recent acquisition of Bee, an AI wearable that records conversations and provides insights. Users can interact with Bee through text or voice chat.

Looking ahead, Rausch indicated that Alexa and Bee will become more closely integrated. However, he emphasized that Bee holds value as a standalone brand, describing it as "an important and engaging experience."