First impressions of Alexa+, Amazon's upgraded, AI-powered digital assistant

TechCrunch

10 hours ago

I owned a lot of Alexa-powered devices in my former home: There were Amazon Echos in most rooms, including an older Echo Plus in the living room, a smattering of Dots, a Spot in a bedroom, and an Echo Show in the kitchen. A Fire TV ran in the bedroom. And, in a drawer, a rarely used Fire HD tablet sat collecting dust.
With the total loss of the home due to a March 2024 house fire, there also came a new opportunity: We could now make a fresh start to create a more modernized smart home after rebuilding our house. But whether Alexa still deserves to be the center of our connected home remains to be seen.
To find out whether Alexa is still the best smart assistant for my family, I'm going to test Amazon's AI-powered devices, experiment with AI queries, and write out my thoughts in a multi-part series. With this series, I hope to offer consumers insights as to how well Alexa works in various real-world situations, not company demos.
Alexa needed to catch up
Image Credits:Amazon
Amazon's assistant, which once gave its users Star Trek vibes as they ordered their home computer to close the blinds or turn off the lights or order milk, no longer seemed as revolutionary in the ChatGPT era. Today, people can engage with AI via text and voice chat. Modern AI chatbots and AI-powered services can answer so many more questions, are imaginative, can reason, can create images and art, generate videos, and, with the agentic AI, they can even perform online tasks on your behalf.
In February 2025, Amazon announced a complete makeover of its digital voice assistant with the arrival of Alexa+, powered by generative AI. That service began rolling out slowly to customers in March and is now available to 'many millions' of users, Amazon says. The system is also model-agnostic, meaning Alexa+ can use whatever it needs in the moment to answer the question or complete the task. Alexa+ is using models from Anthropic and Amazon Nova, among others.
The company teased that this improved Alexa could do more than set timers and alarms, control smart home devices, and answer questions. It leverages generative AI to make sense of information stored in Amazon users' accounts, understand their schedules, and their preferences. It can remember things, process files, and summarize a Ring camera's footage.
Image Credits:Amazon
Notably, Amazon says it's been working with partners to allow it to take actions for people, like booking dinner reservations or Uber rides, or buying concert tickets. Integrations with Amazon's own grocery service could also have it make shopping lists by speaking to it, and then have those products delivered. Essentially, it's aiming to bring agentic AI into the home.
But before we can get to that, let's see how Alexa+ handles the basics.
In the first part of this series, I'm going to set up Alexa+, use the app, and ask the assistant some questions that only the new Alexa+ can do. Later, I'll test the agentic AI features and smart home integrations.
Setting up Alexa+ on an Echo Spot
Device: Echo Spot
Default music service: Spotify (Premium)
Before moving to my new home, I put Alexa+ to the test on a brand-new Echo Spot after being accepted into the beta. Since I couldn't yet hook up smart home devices in the Airbnb that's served as a temporary residence for over a year, I initially tried to test the device's AI in other ways.
Mainly, I wanted to know if Alexa+ was really all that smart and useful, and if she could do all the things Amazon promised.
Image Credits:TechCrunch
Setting up the Spot was easier than it was with past devices, as now you only needed to scan a QR code to get the process started in the Alexa app. The app connected automatically to the home's Wi-Fi; no more weird toggling between the device's network and your own Wi-Fi.
On the next screen, I accepted the invite to upgrade to the new Alexa+ for free, knowing that it's still possible to downgrade to the old Alexa service at any time, if things go wrong.
Onboarding included a short video that explained that Alexa would learn more as I use it, and instructed me on how to talk to Alexa. I then connected my Google account, giving Alexa access to my inbox and calendar.
I ended up on a blank page after doing so, oddly, but after closing the window, the screen informed me that my 'Account Linked.' (Disclosure: I am running the iOS 26 developer beta on my iPhone, so maybe that's the problem?)
Image Credits:Alexa app screenshot
On the following screen, I picked the services I wanted to use with Alexa+, which today include OpenTable, Ticketmaster, Uber, and Thumbtack. I checked all the boxes, then moved to the following screen to grant the necessary permissions, one by one.
While it's a bit tedious to do so — and something that could be even more tedious in time as more services are added — I did appreciate that it felt like I was in control of the data sharing and could see exactly what each service was requesting before agreeing.
Image Credits:Alexa app screenshot
The following screen confirmed that Fodor's travel planning service was already integrated with Alexa+, but it didn't require permissions. It also noted that services like Uber Eats, Grubhub, and Vagaro would be added later on.
Image Credits:Alexa app screenshot
The Alexa app itself is still sorely lacking in user interface design. Despite many updates, the app still feels somehow both plain and too busy. It lacks color and traditional mobile app navigation patterns, and it tries to cram too many examples of 'things to do' on its home screen.
Meanwhile, trying to locate how to do the necessary first steps — like linking my preferred music service — is buried in the interface. Nope, you don't tap on your profile icon, Settings, and then scroll down to 'Preferred service providers.' For some reason, that's where you set your preferred News, Calendar, and Email providers, but not your preferred Music service.
Image Credits:Alexa app screenshot
Instead, you tap on the hamburger menu at the bottom of the screen. You then tap on the 'Music & More' screen. (What's the More? Podcasts? Audiobooks?)
Image Credits:Alexa app screenshot
I set Spotify as my default music service, the default choice for artists and genre stations, and the default for podcasts. There was no option to set my default audiobooks service.
In this section, there was also a list of services I had previously linked with Alexa. Here, Amazon's Audible — which I would prefer to set as the default for audiobooks — was listed alongside other streamers, like Pandora, Amazon Music, Apple Music, and others. But when I tapped on Audible, I simply got an error that says 'You've reached the end of Alexa's knowledge. Just kidding. This skill no longer exists. Click here to go back.'
Uh, OK. I mean, would it not make sense to just remove the broken thing that no longer exists?
In any event, I'm here to try Alexa+, not yell at a poorly designed mobile app.
I'll figure out audiobooks later, I guess.
Note for this series:
In these tests, I may have shared personal information with Alexa that I will not be publishing. In those cases, I will put a description of the item — like 'child's school' — in [brackets]. I have also slightly changed some of the dates, times, and numbers to further obscure any personal information that could be used to develop an understanding of my accounts, meetings, or household routines.
Can Alexa+ manage the family's schedule?
Busy households, especially ones with kids, often use a family calendar to track activities, doctor's appointments, errands, meetings, classes, and more. Our family calendar is maintained in Google Calendar, accessed on our phones through the native Google Calendar app, and on Mac desktops via the calendar app Fantastical.
Amazon suggests that Alexa+ can help summarize your day, add new events to your calendar, identify conflicts, and more.
In practice, Alexa was fairly adept at letting me inquire about the schedule and various events, but it interrupted me when I was asking to add a new meeting to my calendar. I said, 'Can you add a meeting to my calendar on August 6 at 2 p.m. with [entity] about …' Here she cut me off to ask, 'What would you like to title this meeting?'
Annoying, but not end-of-the-world terrible, I suppose.
I was more easily able to ask things like 'What's on my calendar today?' and follow up to ask further questions — like if there were any meetings later in the week or to repeat one of the appointments. I didn't have to say 'Alexa' again to continue the conversation. It felt more natural, but there's a very slight lag with her responses at times.
(As an aside, when I went to find the history of my voice chats for writing this post, I asked Alexa where they could be found. She told me to look in the app's Settings under the More menu, then look for Alexa Privacy or Review Voice History. She's wrong. Neither option was there. I did, however, find my history from the 'Recent Chats' link on the app's home screen. Alexa, c'mon! Know thyself.)
Alexa, remember this
Another thing Alexa+ is supposed to be able to do is store information on your behalf. To test this out, I asked her to remember my frequent flier number. This interaction went poorly.
Me: Alexa, can you remember my Delta SkyMiles number?
Alexa: Sure, I'd be happy to remember your Delta SkyMiles number for you. What's the number?
Me: *opens mouth to speak*
Alexa: I've added that to Remember This in the Alexa privacy section of the app. Also, keep in my that anyone who has access to any of your Alexa devices can use their voice to hear its contents.
Um, what? I tried again.
Me: Alexa, can you remember my SkyMiles number?
Alexa: Certainly! I'd be happy to remember your SkyMiles number for you. What's the number? OK, saved it.
She didn't even take a breath!
Curious, I asked her what she thinks the number is. She responded, 'I don't have your SkyMiles number saved yet. Would you like to tell me your number now?'
Me: Yes.
Alexa: OK, go ahead and tell me your Delta SkyMiles number.
Me: [says the 8-digit number]
Alexa: OK, saved it.
Me: What's my SkyMiles number?
Alexa: 'Six hundred fifty-two million, four hundred eighty-six thousand…'
(Note: I changed the number for the purpose of this post, but yes, Alexa read it out like a long numeral instead of just saying 6-5-2-4-8-6, etc. Not helpful!)
Alexa, read my email
Alexa+ can now supposedly understand documents you upload in the Alexa app or forward to her at [e-mail] using the email address associated with your Amazon account.
To try this, I forwarded an email from my child's school. These come frequently and have a lot of useful information in them, but are often lost in the inbox. Perhaps if Alexa can handle this task, a new Gmail forwarding filter is in order?
Me: Alexa, summarize the recent email from school.
Alexa: The recent email from [my child's school] is a welcome-back letter for the 2025-2026 school year. It announces an 'Early Start Day' orientation on August [date] for new students, with an information session for new parents that evening. Regular classes begin on August [date].
Me: Was there any information specifically for [grade] in that email?
Alexa: I don't see any information specifically for [grade] in that email. The letter mainly covers general school information, orientation dates, and important deadlines for all students.
Alexa app Screenshot
Great, that worked, it seems. But here's where things got a little trickier.
Me: Are there any important dates I should add to my calendar?
Alexa: *repeats the important dates from above*
Me: Can you add those to my calendar for me?
Alexa: (Who must have misheard me?) Checking your calendar. Sarah, your calendar is looking busy. You have [activity] ongoing until August 16th, you have [activity]. On Thursday, …
Me: (interrupting) I was asking if you could add the dates in the email to my calendar for me?
Alexa: Certainly, I'll do that. (Pause) I've added the following dates to your calendar:
Course Correction Request Period from August [date] through August [date]
New Student Orientation Early Start Day on August [date, time]
First Day of School on August [date]
Is there anything else you'd like me to add?
While this process seems efficient and is certainly helpful in a pinch, you'll notice I left it up to Alexa to determine which dates were 'important.' As a result, she picked the three dates closest to today. The email itself, however, contained a list of 12 important school dates, including things like Meet the Teacher Night, Open House, Midyear Graduation, and more.
All of them were formatted the same way in the email under the heading 'Important Dates.' Had I only relied on Alexa and had not read the email itself, I would have missed these.
Oh, dear.
Alexa, help me save money
Another Alexa+ promise is that she can help you track prices on Amazon so you can save money when things go on sale. Alright, I'll bite! I like online shopping.
I decided to try tracking a couple of things, including one skin care item and a Coach handbag. These are things I definitely don't need, but want — the kinds of things where a discount could prompt a purchase.
Amazon.com screenshot
Me: Alexa, I want to know when the Glow Recipe Plum Plumping and Hydrating Hyaluronic Acid Skin Care Serum goes on sale.
Alexa: Just a second … I've set up a deal tracker for the Glow Recipe Plum Plumping Serum. I'll notify you when it goes on sale.
Me: How much is it right now?
Alexa: *silence*
Me: Did you hear me?
Alexa: Checking on that. Yes, I heard you. I've already set up a deal tracker for the Glow Recipe Plum Plumping Serum. You'll get a notification when it goes on sale.
Me: How much is it now?
Alexa: *More silence.*
OK, I guess we'll wait on that one.
Next up, I tried the handbag.
Me: Alexa, I want to know when the Coach Swinger handbag goes on sale.
Alexa: Certainly, I'll check that. Got it! I set up a deal tracker for the Coach Swinger handbag. I'll let you know when it goes on sale.
Me: Is it out of stock in blue?
Alexa: *Silence*
Me: Is the Coach handbag I just asked you about out of stock in blue? (Note: it was, per Amazon's website at the time of the request.)
Alexa: Let me check that for you. (Long pause) I found the Coach Swinger handbag, but it's currently available in black. The blue option isn't showing up in the search results, which might mean it's out of stock. Would you like more details about the available options?
Me: No.
The Coach Swinger handbag in blue does show up on the product page on the web, for what it's worth; it's listed as 'temporarily out of stock.' The bag is also available in both black and red, but Alexa only mentioned the black option for some reason. Not super helpful.
And we'll have to wait to see if it ever goes on sale.
Off to a slow start
With these first introductory tests, Alexa+ seems very much like a beta product. She's trying but is prone to making mistakes and not being thorough. Sometimes, she doesn't even seem to hear me or doesn't know what to do.
Given that many of these are out-of-the-box features that don't require integrations, you have to wonder how well Alexa+ will do at navigating the web and taking action for you.
In the next installment of this series, I'll continue testing the AI and will try some of the agentic AI features with Alexa+.