Amazon unveils Alexa+, a generative AI update with vision capabilities and more, in preview in March 2025 for $20 per month or free to Prime subscribers

Arriving more than a year after it was first announced, Alexa is finally catching up to Google's Gemini.

The Verge 2025-02-26 Wes Davis

Context & Ripple Effects

Amazon had already previewed generative Alexa features as a free U.S. experience, while later reporting indicated it was considering a separate monthly tier for a more capable revamp. Alexa+ turns that long-running plan into a named preview and ties it directly to Prime.

The launch follows an Alexa-focused event announcement that signaled the delayed generative-AI overhaul was nearing presentation. The notable commercial decision is not just the new vision capability, but its $20 monthly list price alongside Prime inclusion.

First-order effects

Alexa users gain access to a March preview of a generative-AI version with vision capabilities, changing Alexa from a largely voice-first assistant proposition to a broader multimodal one.
Amazon establishes two access paths for Alexa+: a standalone $20-per-month subscription or inclusion with Prime, making Prime status immediately relevant to who pays separately.

Second-order effects

The $20 list price resets the economics implied by earlier reports of a $5-to-$10 Alexa tier, putting pressure on Amazon to demonstrate that the expanded capabilities justify a premium assistant price for non-Prime users.
Google’s Gemini is the explicitly referenced benchmark in the coverage, so the release raises the competitive importance of multimodal assistant features and of distribution through existing consumer memberships.

Third-order effects

If Prime inclusion persists, consumer AI assistants may increasingly be bundled as retention features inside broader subscriptions rather than sold only as standalone products—a distribution advantage for platforms with established memberships.
The contrast between a standalone price and bundled access will test whether recurring AI costs are best recovered through direct subscription revenue or through the value of a larger service bundle.

The trend: This is one step in the shift from basic smart-speaker assistants toward multimodal, generative AI services monetized through subscription bundles and platform distribution.

Discussion

@tomwarren.co.uk Tom Warren on bluesky
Amazon has just unveiled Alexa Plus, the long-awaited generative AI version of Alexa. Amazon devices & services chief Panos Panay is currently asking Alexa if the audience is pumped 🙃 www.theverge.com/news/619755/ ... [images]
@markgurman Mark Gurman on x
The new Alexa+ is basically ChatGPT Voice Mode on steroids, with personality, context and memory of past conversations and people. It's extremely impressive. It is frightening how far behind Apple is in this space.
@panos_panay Panos Panay on x
Say hello to Alexa+. Need dinner plans? She'll book your favorite restaurant, grab an Uber, and text your sitter — all in one conversation. Want concert tickets? She'll scout for the best prices. Need to check if the garbage went out? She'll find that exact Ring clip in seconds. …
@ajassy Andy Jassy on x
Excited to be with the team in NYC today rolling out the new Alexa+. Across Amazon, we're harnessing the transformative power of GenAI to reimagine the experiences we offer customers, and Alexa+ is the latest example. She's smarter, more capable, more personalized, and unlike [vi…
@mgsiegler M.G. Siegler on x
So... free. Will there be a single user of Alexa+ who doesn't have Prime? (Which is great news.)
@markgurman Mark Gurman on x
Amazon Alexa+ will be $19.99 a month or come free with Amazon Prime. Rollout begins in March.
@edludlow Ed Ludlow on x
We've been an Alexa household for about 5 years. One in each main room. And in the age of ChatGPT (voice), Grok and iPhone/Siri we'd really stopped using it for anything beyond timers, alarms and speakers for music/audio books. Sometimes I'll bite and add items to Prime cart on
@raywongy Ray Wong on x
This is Alexa+ [video]
@drbarnard David Barnard on x
A lot of people assume Apple is only temporarily behind and that they will, of course, build the iPhone to everyone else's Blackberry. That's certainly possible, but I'm not convinced it's inevitable. Amazon, Google, Facebook, OpenAI, and others will be fierce competitors.
@joannastern Joanna Stern on x
Quick clip here of the voice [video]
@joannastern Joanna Stern on x
Alexa+. The next generation of Alexa, with generative AI. “She's useful. She's there to help you complete tasks. She can plan a date. But she can also book the restaurant. And text the babysitter. She can be your personal shopper.” [image]
@joannastern Joanna Stern on x
Panos Panay, head of Amazon devices and services, talking about the shortcomings of current Alexa. Sometimes gets things wrong, need to talk in Alexa speak. Generative AI can help with that.. [video]
@mattswider Matt Swider on x
🚨 Trailer: Amazon just announced Alexa+, its new Generative AI LLM that uses reason and remembers everything about you. “She can go everywhere with you.” “Alexa has a legacy of 10 years of trust and transparency with our customers.” [video]
@maxwinebach Max Weinbach on x
New Alexa! Powered by an LLM and actually able to function as an agent to do things for you [video]
@markgurman Mark Gurman on x
Alexa+ built around generative AI is now official
@quinnypig.com Corey Quinn on bluesky
But as a customer I don't want my smart speaker to do any of these things. I tried buying Amazon products with Alexa; it was already too fraught. I'd not trust it with anything more complex. [embedded post]
@mgsiegler M.G. Siegler on x
A tale of two Alexas playing out on my phone in real time... [image]
@panos_panay Panos Panay on x
Pumped! @ajassy [image]
@mattswider Matt Swider on x
@LegendaryScoop ... Moments with Alexa+: @panos_panay: You can ask “What happened around my house today!” “Can you see if anyone walked the dog in the last couple of days?” Alexa will show you all clips related to your query. Panos then shows clips of his home and dog in a live d…
@mattswider Matt Swider on x
@LegendaryScoop @ajassy Alexa+ mimics the better parts of the movie Her - like the first half of the movie. @panos_panay is in his element at this Amazon launch event. Microsoft is missing out. [image]
@kantrowitz Alex Kantrowitz on x
“The rearchitecture of all of Alexa has happened” - Amazon devices head Panos Panay
@caro_milanesi Carolina Milanesi on x
Ten years ago @panos_panay was blown away by how Alexa just worked and while the vision for Alexa remains ambitious they had been limited up to now by the technology - 💯 agree on this point, @amazon 's vision has been spot on from the start [image]
@maxwinebach Max Weinbach on x
Now, @panos_panay is on stage to talk about Alexa! [image]
@maxwinebach Max Weinbach on x
Amazon uses experts for each service then is able to actually chain the function and expert calls together to perform actions for you and... ACTUALLY WORKS [video]
@joannastern Joanna Stern on x
Alexa+ is using multiple models. Amazon says its model agnostic but it clear Anthropic's Claude is a huge part of the system.
@maxwinebach Max Weinbach on x
Alexa+ uses Amazon Nova AND Anthropic models It has a router to use the best model for each task [image]
@stevemoser Steve Moser on x
✅ (photo via @MaxWinebach). Though interesting that Anthropic is in the model mix with Nova for Alexa plus. Does Nova not have a world model? [image]
@reckless Nilay Patel on bluesky
Sitting at the big Amazon AI Alexa event with @jp2e.bsky.social @welch.bsky.social and @toddhaselton.bsky.social - no livestream so the best place to follow is our liveblog which is always minutes ahead of everyone ;) www.theverge.com/news/618261/ ... [image]
@markgurman Mark Gurman on x
New Alexa coming shortly [image]

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