First Impressions of Alexa+, Amazon’s Upgraded AI-Powered Digital Assistant

In the wake of a devastating house fire that destroyed her previous home, the author is embarking on a journey to rebuild and modernize their smart home. This personal reset presents a unique opportunity to re-evaluate the role of Amazon’s digital assistant, Alexa, and whether its latest iteration, Alexa+, can reclaim its position at the center of a connected household.

Once a ubiquitous presence in her home with numerous Echo devices, the author is now testing the new AI-powered Alexa+ to see if it can compete in today’s advanced AI landscape, which includes sophisticated chatbots capable of complex reasoning, image generation, and performing tasks on users’ behalf.

Amazon announced a significant overhaul of its digital voice assistant in February 2025, introducing Alexa+ powered by generative AI. This enhanced service, which began a gradual rollout in March, is designed to be model-agnostic, capable of leveraging various AI models, including those from Anthropic and Amazon Nova, to better understand and respond to user queries.

The promise of Alexa+ extends far beyond simple timers and smart home controls. It aims to understand user schedules, preferences, and account information, with capabilities like summarizing video footage from Ring cameras and processing files. The ultimate goal is to integrate agentic AI, enabling Alexa to perform actions like booking reservations or ordering items on behalf of the user.

To gauge its effectiveness, the author began by setting up Alexa+ on a new Echo Spot, documenting the initial setup process and testing core functionalities before diving into more complex agentic AI features.

Setting up Alexa+ on an Echo Spot

The setup experience for the Echo Spot proved to be more streamlined than in previous generations. Users now need only scan a QR code within the Alexa app to initiate the process. The app automatically connected to the home’s Wi-Fi, eliminating the need for manual network switching.

Upon being accepted into the beta program, the author was prompted to upgrade to Alexa+ for free, with the option to revert to the older Alexa service if necessary. The onboarding included a brief explanation of Alexa’s learning capabilities and instructions on interaction. Linking a Google account granted Alexa access to the user’s inbox and calendar.

The process of linking third-party services was detailed. Users select preferred services like OpenTable, Ticketmaster, Uber, and Thumbtack, granting permissions one by one. While this step was described as tedious, the author appreciated the transparency and control over data sharing.

The Alexa app itself received criticism for its user interface, described as plain yet busy, lacking traditional navigation patterns, and cramming too many features onto the home screen. The author also noted difficulty in locating specific settings, such as linking a preferred music service, finding it nested under an unexpected menu.

A notable issue encountered was a broken link for the Audible skill within the app, highlighting potential inconsistencies in managing integrated services.

Can Alexa+ manage the family’s schedule?

Testing Alexa+’s ability to manage a family calendar integrated with Google Calendar revealed mixed results. While Alexa was proficient in answering questions about the schedule, her interaction during event creation was interruptive. When asked to add a meeting, she immediately asked for the title without letting the user finish the initial request.

Follow-up questions about the schedule were handled more smoothly, allowing for natural conversation flow without repeating the wake word. However, a slight lag was observed in her responses. The author also noted an inaccuracy when Alexa provided incorrect guidance on how to access voice chat history within the app.

Alexa, remember this

An attempt to test Alexa’s memory function by asking her to remember a frequent flier number led to a peculiar interaction. On the first attempt, Alexa saved the information without prompting for the number, immediately followed by a privacy disclaimer. On the second attempt, she asked for the number, confirmed it was saved, but when asked to recall it, she read out the digits as a large numeral rather than saying them individually.

Alexa, read my email

Alexa+’s capability to summarize emails forwarded to alexa@alexa.com was tested using a school newsletter. Alexa successfully summarized the key information regarding orientation and school start dates. However, when asked for specific details pertaining to a particular grade, she stated no such information was present.

A more significant limitation emerged when Alexa was asked to add the important dates listed in the email to the calendar. She only identified and added three dates, missing a total of twelve crucial dates mentioned in the email, which were formatted identically. This selective interpretation of “important dates” could lead users to miss vital information if they rely solely on Alexa’s summarization.

Alexa, help me save money

The feature allowing Alexa+ to track prices on Amazon for potential savings was also put to the test. When asked to track a specific skincare serum, Alexa confirmed setting up a deal tracker but failed to respond when asked about the current price.

Similarly, when asked to track a Coach handbag, she set up the tracker. However, when questioned about its availability in blue, Alexa initially paused before stating the blue option wasn’t showing up in search results, implying it was out of stock, while only mentioning the black option as available. The handbag was indeed listed as “temporarily out of stock” in blue on Amazon’s website at the time.

Off to a slow start

Based on these initial tests, Alexa+ appears to be in a beta phase, exhibiting inconsistencies and errors in core functionalities. The author notes that many of these features are basic, raising questions about the readiness of Alexa+ for more complex agentic AI tasks.

Future installments of this series will delve deeper into the AI capabilities and test the more advanced agentic AI features of Alexa+.