Up close with Alexa Plus – this may finally be the Echo upgrade I've been waiting for

3 hours ago 5

(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

I don't want to overstate things but, between us, Alexa Plus may be the Alexa you've been waiting for. Amazon unveiled its massive digital assistant overhaul, which makes the platform smarter, more conversational, more personal, proactive, and a true doer. I might've considered this all a bit of hype if I hadn't seen so many live demos and, yes, even tried it out for myself.

Alexa Plus is Amazon's first attempt at a true generative AI system that can respond to natural language prompts, retain context, remember facts about you and your life, and quickly solve prompts that range from building grocery lists to figuring out if anyone has walked the family dog.

After Amazon CEO Andy Jassy gave us a deep model dive and Amazon Devices head Panos Panay and other execs walked us through the details of the new Alexa Plus (along with Alexa.com and the new app), Amazon walked me through a series of demos that illustrated the platforms new, and formidable AI powers. Executives tell me that the device manages its queries locally on device and in the cloud. The decision depends on complexity, and those requiring AI models will largely be in the cloud.

Finally, a truly smart home

The Alexa Plus smart home demo was a true eye-opener from an impact standpoint. Amazon Alexa VP Scott Durhan showed us on an Echo Show (all demos were on the 21-inch smart display) how he could say to Alexa, "I've been away on business, can I see a quick summary of what's happened in the house while I was away?" Alexa Plus works with Ring (also owned by Amazon) and uses the platform's new smart video search (a premium service) to quickly find video snapshots from around the home that are within that time frame.

One of the hallmarks of the new Alexa Plus is its ability to maintain context and answer follow-up questions. Durham asked if his dog had gotten walks in that time frame, and Alexa Plus returned videos showing when the dog was taken outside. Durham, notably, did not have to repeat Alexa's name or spell out every detail of what he wanted in the prompt (they call this old way of engaging with the digital assistant "Alexa Speak") to add details like the fact that he owns a dog or its name.

Durham had shared that information previously with Alexa Plus, and it was remembered and integrated into the system.

(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

One of my frustrations with the current Alexa platform is that, even when you use the app, it is still incredibly difficult to set up away routines. I want to just speak to Alexa and make it happen. Durham showed me how you can now simply describe what you want, "I'm gonna be away for a week, can you create a routine so that the lights kind of come on and look like someone's home." A moment later, Alexa Plus created an "Away Mode Lights 7PM-to-9PM" routine. That was simple and effective.

There's also the long-standing issue of naming smart gadgets in the home and Alexa not responding properly unless you use that exact name in your query. Alexa Plus doesn't seem to mind some significant vagueness. You can tell it that you want it to turn off a light in the sitting room, and it will turn off the light in that room, which is called "Sofa Light," even though you didn't call it by name.

I only hope that Alexa Plus works as well in the real world (read "my smart home").

We also got a look at Alexa Plus' upcoming grocery feature, which can work with Amazon Fresh (among other grocers) to build meal plans and grocery lists based on skeletal information.

(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)

I told Alexa Plus that I wanted to build a dinner for vegetarians who like meat-like products. Soon, I had dishes using ingredients like Beyond Meat. When I asked for side dishes that would work, it remembered the vegetarian aspect and found foods like corn on the cob and vegetarian cole slaw.

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Alexa Plus can then quickly take those recipes and spin up a shopping list that you can alter by tapping the screen or asking it to change specific grocery items. Alexa Plus' ability to stay in the moment was remarkable.

Sucking in docs and details

Alexa Plus can also read documents you email to [email protected]. Sending Alexa one of your emails may seem odd and a bit of a privacy issue, but assuming you trust Amazon, it's easy enough to do.

We saw how when you mail Alexa an email describing an upcoming tennis match (you can also send PDFs, Word Docs, and TXT files), Alexa Plus can identify that there's an event and automatically add it to your calendar, which will appear on the Echo Show. If the doc has multiple events, Alexa Plus will email you back and ask which one you want to add. We saw how you can query Alexa Plus and ask, "Where is my first match?"

If there's a small detail you need from the email, you can ask about that and then tell Alexa Plus to memorize it and remind you if you need any equipment for the match.

Naturally, Amazon execs showed us how easy it is to go from talking about the match to asking Alexa Plus to help you find a new tennis racquet. It can even watch for deals on the racquet of your choice. For now, this only works with Amazon and not third-party retailers.

That's entertainment

One of the most entertaining demos was using Alexa Plus to discover and find music and movies with only scant information.

Watching this demo, I felt like Amazon must have been listening in on conversations between me and my wife, where we try to describe a movie or TV show to each other: "It has that guy in from Dawson's Creek, but he's on a boat...?"

I watched as Alexa Plus deftly handled piecemeal prompts like, "What is the song that Phoebe thinks is about Tony Danza?" Alexa Plus knew it was "Hold Me Closer Tiny Dancer" and we were referring to the Friends episode where Phoebe thinks it's about the Who's the Boss? star.

We went through a series of movie prompts that reminded me of Jeopardy! questions where we failed to stump Alexa Plus.

Alexa Plus is not just smart about entertainment; it's also pretty good at managing how you enjoy it in ways that make customization dead simple.

We started on an Echo show that was "in the kitchen" and asked Alexa to play "The song at the end of The Breakfast Club" in the Living Room (an Echo Studio). Then we asked it to switch the music to the living room (another Echo Studio on the other side of the demo space). Finally, the exec told Alexa Plus that he was going "to do some dishes, move it there," and Alexa Plus shifted the music to the Echo Show in the "kitchen."

From accurately guessing "Don't You Forget About Me," to deftly moving the music around without all the specific details it usually takes, Alexa Plus AI-powered entertainment skills appear formidable.

Exciting but

It was a series of impressive demos, but I do have questions about privacy and support for screenless Echos. Amazon has already confirmed that not every Echo ever made will support Alexa Plus (they'll still work with the original Alexa), but I do wonder what the experience will be like on smart speakers.

The Ring integration is exciting, but you have to pay for that video feature. Otherwise, queries about activities over the last two weeks might come up with nothing.

I am glad Amazon is including Alexa Plus in Amazon Prime. It's hard to imagine paying $19.99 a month for the privilege of using it.

I also wonder just how much of Anthropic's Claude is at work here. Amazon called them a partner, but are we still talking to Alexa, or is this now Claude in Alexa Plus clothing?

Even so, this is the change Alexa desperately needed, and I think it's safe to say that Amazon has officially entered the consumer AI race.

A 38-year industry veteran and award-winning journalist, Lance has covered technology since PCs were the size of suitcases and “on line” meant “waiting.” He’s a former Lifewire Editor-in-Chief, Mashable Editor-in-Chief, and, before that, Editor in Chief of PCMag.com and Senior Vice President of Content for Ziff Davis, Inc. He also wrote a popular, weekly tech column for Medium called The Upgrade.

Lance Ulanoff makes frequent appearances on national, international, and local news programs including Live with Kelly and Mark, the Today Show, Good Morning America, CNBC, CNN, and the BBC.

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