“UK consumers will notice an immediate difference,” she added. “Using Alexa+ is a very different experience.”
For example, I asked the current Alexa whether I needed an umbrella today. It responded, “no rain is expected today”.
At a UK demo of Alexa+, it responded, “actually, you can leave the brolly at home, with sunny skies and no rain in the forecast, you’ll be sorted without it”.
Ed Freed from the marketing agency Rapp UK once described Alexa as “nothing more than expensive kitchen timers” for most users.
However, Amazon claims 52% of the UK has tried the Echo out, and there have been 114 billion “interactions” with Alexa in the UK since 2023 – roughly 1,500 interactions per person in the population.
Smart speakers have faced criticism for languishing while other AI tools have rapidly taken off.
One of Alexa’s rivals, Google Nest, is becoming Gemini for Home, incorporating the tech giant’s Gemini AI platform, but its smart speaker screen display hardware has not been updated since 2021, notes the Android Police website, external.
Alexa+ will be free for those with an Amazon Prime account (currently £95 per year) or £19.99 a month.
New Echo devices will have immediate access, while those with older devices will have to sign up online.
The Echo has reportedly cost Amazon billions of dollars in losses and failed to generated a revenue stream, as customers tended to purchase the device itself and then did not buy anything else with it.
In 2022 and 2025 Amazon targeted its “device and services” department for redundancies.
Even if Alexa+ does not attract huge subscription revenue, having more detailed conversations with the Echo could provide Amazon with more data about its users and help it target ads.
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