You know that moment when you ask your smart assistant to do something simple, like play your go-to playlist or reorder your coffee, and it responds like a clunky robot stuck in 2009? Amazon is finally trying to leave that era behind with Alexa+, its generative AI-powered upgrade. And while the rollout is still in its early days, things are starting to get real.
According to CEO Andy Jassy, Alexa+ has now reached over 100,000 users. Sure, that’s a drop in the ocean compared to the 600 million Alexa devices out there, but it’s the clearest sign yet that Amazon is making moves to evolve Alexa from a script-following voice assistant to a smart, intuitive AI that can understand and respond like a human.
What’s new? Alexa+ is built to let you speak naturally — no more awkward commands. Think casual chats and creative, in-the-moment responses. Eventually, it’ll be able to handle tasks across third-party apps for you, like ordering food, suggesting gift ideas, or even telling your kid a bedtime story. But don’t get too excited just yet — many of those promised features are still MIA. The version that’s out now doesn’t include third-party app integration or personalized content generation. Translation: it’s promising, but still has its training wheels on.
Jassy was refreshingly honest on Amazon’s earnings call. He described Alexa+ as one of the first “action-oriented AI agents for consumers,” while acknowledging that the technology is still in its early stages and can be “inaccurate” at times. Currently, multi-step AI agents hover around a 30–60% success rate — nowhere near the 90% benchmark Amazon’s aiming for with its web-browsing agent, Nova Act.
Meanwhile, Apple is lagging, with its LLM-powered Siri still under construction. Tim Cook chalked it up to needing more time, but it’s clear both tech giants are discovering that plugging LLMs into real-world tasks is harder than expected.
So, while Alexa+ isn’t quite ready to run your life just yet, it’s no longer just answering weather questions either. The AI assistant race is on — and Amazon seems determined not to come in second.
Want to try the new Alexa+? You may just need to wait for your wave.
