Alexa+ Review: First Hands-On with Amazon's AI-Powered Assistant
Alexa+ Review: First Hands-On with Amazon's AI-Powered Assistant
Amazon has launched Alexa+, a major upgrade to its digital assistant, now powered by generative AI. With competition from modern chatbots and agentic AI, Alexa needed a significant revamp to stay relevant in smart homes. So, how well does Alexa+ live up to its promises?
Getting Started: Setting Up Alexa+
Setup on the new Echo Spot is refreshingly simple: scan a QR code, follow prompts on the Alexa app, and connect your Google account for calendar and email integration. The onboarding process includes a short introductory video, and you can choose which third-party services to link, like OpenTable and Uber.
A notable improvement is more granular control over permissions. However, the Alexa app interface still feels cluttered and unintuitive—some settings, like default music providers, are hidden in unexpected menus. While Spotify integration works, audiobook selection is buggy, especially with Amazon's own Audible.
Can Alexa+ Manage Family Life?
For busy families, Alexa+ promises better calendar management. It can summarize your day, add events, and spot scheduling conflicts. In practice, Alexa+ handled simple queries like “What’s on my calendar today?” well, and allowed for natural follow-up questions without repeating the wake word. There’s a slight lag in responses, and Alexa sometimes interrupts or misinterprets requests when adding new events.
Voice chat history is accessible via the app’s home screen (not where Alexa says), so finding past interactions can be confusing.
Alexa+ as Your Digital Memory
One feature is the ability to remember information, such as loyalty program numbers. However, the process was inconsistent—Alexa+ sometimes saved data but then couldn’t recall it or read it out in an unhelpful format (e.g., reading a number as a long numeral rather than in chunks).
Document and Email Summaries
Alexa+ can now process documents and emails sent to [email protected]. Summarizing school emails worked well, but when asked to add all important dates from an email to the calendar, Alexa+ only picked the three nearest dates, missing several others. This could lead to missed events if users rely solely on Alexa’s summary.
Shopping and Price Tracking
Alexa+ introduces price tracking for Amazon products. You can ask Alexa to notify you when an item goes on sale. While setting up deal trackers worked, Alexa+ struggled with real-time price checks and gave incomplete responses about product availability (for example, not mentioning all color options in stock).
Early Verdict: Promising, but Still in Beta
Alexa+ feels like a work in progress. The AI is more conversational, but prone to mistakes, missing information, or not hearing requests. Many core features need refinement before Alexa+ can truly serve as the household’s AI agent.
The next phase of testing will include agentic AI capabilities, such as making reservations or online purchases directly through Alexa+. For now, Alexa+ delivers a glimpse of what’s possible, but users should temper expectations as Amazon continues to improve the platform.
