Alexa+: New Generative AI Upgrade Reaches Over One Million Users

Amazon has steadily expanded invitations for its next-generation digital assistant, Alexa+, which is supercharged by generative AI. On Monday, Amazon confirmed to TechCrunch that the service, first announced in February, has now surpassed one million users. Alexa+ is still not publicly available, however.

The company has been methodically working through its waitlist, sending invitations to customers who initially signed up to test the service. In recent weeks, many users have taken to social media to share that they received access to Alexa+, which offers more natural and personalized conversations, seamless smart home integration, and a broader range of AI-driven capabilities.

During this Early Access phase, Alexa+ is available at no cost. Once it launches publicly, it will remain free for Prime members, while non-Prime users will be charged $19.99 per month.

Earlier this year, Amazon indicated that invites for the new system would be released in phases over the coming months. In May 2025, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy reported that Alexa+ had reached over 100,000 users—a small fraction of the 600 million Alexa devices sold. That user base has grown substantially in the weeks since.

Alexa+ marks a significant effort by Amazon to build a generative AI experience for consumers that can eventually become a revenue stream.

Although Amazon pioneered the market for voice-controlled smart home assistants with its Alexa-enabled Echo devices, it struggled to convert that early lead into a profitable business. More recently, Alexa lost momentum as generative AI services like ChatGPT surged in popularity. In comparison to today's advanced AI, Alexa began to feel outdated, limited, and underpowered.

Alexa+ is designed to upgrade the digital assistant with a new set of capabilities. Users can interact with the assistant using more conversational language, phrasing requests in their own words. For example, saying “It's too cold in here” will prompt Alexa to adjust your smart thermostat. The service also simplifies creating routines, searching through Ring camera history, interrupting or changing topics mid-conversation, and more.

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The experience is also more personalized, as Alexa+ saves your preferences and remembers your favorites—from go-to music to preferred recipes.

Thanks to its generative AI foundation, Alexa can now summarize long emails you share with it, create original bedtime stories, generate quizzes from study guides, build travel itineraries, summarize smart home activity, and answer various questions—much like a standard AI chatbot.

Additionally, the assistant will help you complete tasks like purchasing concert tickets, booking dinner reservations, and alerting you when an item you’ve been tracking goes on sale. Launch partners for these features include OpenTable, Ticketmaster, Uber Eats, Tripadvisor, Grubhub, Yelp, Priceline, Viator, Thumbtack, Atom, Fodor’s, and others.

During early access, Alexa+ will initially be supported on the Echo Show 8, 10, 15, and 21 devices in the United States. It will later expand to more Echo owners, Fire TV users, and Fire tablet customers.

Early testers have reported mixed impressions. Some praise the service as more capable than Siri, while others note it still feels unpolished in certain areas—a sentiment echoed in several initial reviews.

It's important to note that Alexa+ is not yet fully launched, but it’s nearing that point. Amazon states that nearly 90% of the features it previously announced have already been released.