The new Alexa+ is powered by a range of AI and large language models, Amazon said, which uses Amazon’s Bedrock service – a kind of menu for AI models – to serve up the most appropriate model to carry out a specific task each time.
Alexa+ has a new voice, is smarter, more powerful and able to do far more, Amazon says – and has a subscription price for the first time for those who are not Amazon Prime customers.
In practical terms, Amazon says this means users will now be able to ask it to make purchases for you, as well as make reservations and then add these details to relevant calendars and text those involved the key details.
In short, Amazon says Alexa+ enables users to do far more thanks to its AI-powered update, which enables the assistant to work more seamlessly across different apps and services to help users with tasks.
Amazon’s own, new model, Nova, is one of those included, as is AI firm Anthropic’s – the company behind the Claude chatbot and which Amazon is a major investor in.
