Amazon’s next-generation AI assistant is now available to everyone in the US for $20 per month, or for free if you’re a Prime member. Amazon has also introduced a try-before-you-buy free tier for non-Prime members, but it’s limited to text-based chat.
Alexa+ has been in early access since last year, and Amazon says it’s listened to user insights ahead of rolling out the update nationwide today. If you’re a Prime member, you can start using the new assistant by saying “Alexa, upgrade to Alexa+” or by heading to Alexa.com and signing into your Amazon account. The Alexa website is also where you’ll find the new free Alexa chat feature, which lets you ask questions and research various topics with usage limits.
Given that a Prime membership costs less ($15 per month) than Alexa+ on its own, Amazon is no doubt hoping that the introduction of its now more conversational Alexa assistant will entice some would-be subscribers. Amazon also offers a 30-day free trial of Prime to first-time customers.
As well as allowing more complex and naturally flowing interactions, Alexa+ also has new agentic capabilities, making it more effective at managing your schedule, providing recommendations, making reservations and controlling your smart home devices. It’s also a more personalized experience, with the idea being that Alexa keeps an eye on your digital activity so it gives you more useful answers.
Whether the overhauled Alexa will work for everyone remains to be seen. In our preview last summer, Engadget’s Cherlynn Low wrote about her conflicted feelings on the next-gen assistant. While impressed by its ability to handle more complex tasks, she found the experience to be inconsistent and “just incompetent enough to be annoying.”
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/alexa-is-now-available-nationwide-with-a-free-text-based-version-for-non-prime-members-to-try-155550342.html?src=rss
