Amazon announced that its artificial intelligence-powered generative digital assistant Alexa Plus is now available to all Prime members in the US through any Alexa-enabled device, Alexa.com and the Alexa mobile app. If you don’t have Prime, you can access the assistant at a new free tier on the website and in the app, or pay $20 per month for unlimited access to Alexa Plus without Prime.
Alexa Plus originally launched in March 2025 in the Early Access program and has slowly expanded to tens of millions of users over the past year, said Daniel Rausch, vice president of Alexa and Echo. The Verge in the interview.
Now, the smarter and conversational assistant is moving out of Early Access and officially available to anyone in the US. Early access recently launched in Canada and Mexico, and according to Rausch, a closed beta program is being tested in the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain, with early access expected to follow.
In the US, the new levels for using Alexa Plus are as follows:
- Alexa Plus for Prime: This gives you and your household unlimited access to Alexa Plus everywhere, across Alexa-enabled devices, Alexa.com and the Alexa app for a $14.99/month/$139/year membership.
- Alexa Plus: For $19.99, you get the same access as Prime members, but you pay an extra $5 per month and don’t get the extra benefits of Prime.
- Alexa Plus Chat: This new free option allows non-Prime members to try out Alexa Plus via chat on Alexa.com and in the Alexa app. This is basically a chatbot where you can ask questions and do research, similar to ChatGPT or Claude. Rausch says that level will be limited based on usage.
If you have Prime and use any Echo devices, Alexa Plus is coming soon (or may already be there) via a software update. You can also say “Alexa, upgrade to Alexa Plus” or sign in to your Amazon account on Alexa.com. Rausch says you can choose to opt out of the upgrade. And if you decide you want to go back to the old Alexa after the upgrade, that’s still an option.
If you don’t have Prime but want to try Alexa Plus, you can go to Amazon.com/AlexaPlus.
Based on an all-new architecture and powered by large language models from Amazon Nova and Anthropic, Alexa Plus is a fundamental overhaul of Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant. It has moved from a basic voice assistant with commands and controls to a “basic artificial intelligence assistant” that can understand and respond to natural language.
Now, in addition to setting timers, playing music, and controlling smart home gadgets, the voice assistant can answer more complex questions, respond to more detailed requests, and make it easier to control your smart home by creating routines with your voice.
It can also manage your family’s calendars and meal plans, provide step-by-step recipe directions, make restaurant reservations, book an Uber or home repairman, or buy concert tickets.
You can also use Alexa Plus as a text-based chatbot through Alexa.com on the web, where it’s designed for deeper research, planning, and content generation.
Since its launch, Rausch says people are using the Alexa Plus voice assistant twice as much. “We continue to see customer engagement with Alexa Plus grow week after week.”
The chatbot version of Alexa Plus is new; the web interface launched last month, and the Alexa app was recently redesigned to put the chatbot front and center. “A lot of customers aren’t sure whether to sign up for another AI chatbot for another $20 a month,” says Rausch. “I’m thrilled that Prime customers have unlimited access to a world-class essential AI assistant as part of their Prime benefits.”