Amazon is finally rolling out its long-awaited generative AI upgrade for Alexa, called Alexa Plus, transforming the voice assistant into a more conversational and capable helper. After spending 24 hours with this early access version, it’s clear this isn’t just an update – it’s an entirely new experience that changes how you interact with your smart home and devices. Here’s a look at the key takeaways and how it handled daily tasks.
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Alexa Plus is designed to be more understanding, letting you speak naturally, pause, or change requests mid-sentence without getting lost. This feels like a leap forward from the old command-and-control structure. However, this early access version still has some rough edges, occasionally struggling with existing features like routines and sometimes giving inaccurate information.
Echo smart displays get an updated UI when Alexa Plus is activated. Here it is on the Show 21.
Putting Alexa Plus to the Test
My first day with the upgraded Alexa involved several real-world scenarios, from cooking dinner to planning a trip.
Cooking Up a Storm
Helping with recipes has always been a staple for voice assistants, but Alexa Plus brings a new level of interaction. When I asked for a salmon taco recipe, it didn’t just display a static list; it showed the steps in a dynamic, chatbot-style interface on my Echo Show. The real game-changer was being able to ask follow-up questions naturally – “Which spices do I need?” or “How long for the salmon?” – and have Alexa respond with specific details from the recipe without needing to scroll or find my place. It even set a timer automatically when I told it how long to cook. This fluid, hands-free interaction is a massive improvement over the old Alexa, which often got confused or lost its place in recipes.
However, it wasn’t perfect. At one point, it couldn’t find a specific ingredient amount that was clearly listed in the recipe, and it occasionally lost track of our conversation if I didn’t interact for a few minutes, sometimes even denying we had been talking about the recipe at all!
Morning Coffee Mishaps
The biggest challenge appeared during my morning coffee routine. I have a programmed Alexa Routine to start my smart coffee maker. Asking Alexa to “make me a coffee” usually triggers this. But the new, more “intelligent” Alexa Plus, trying to understand my intent, initially responded, “I’m sorry, I can’t actually make coffee for you.” It seemed to interpret my request literally rather than recognizing I wanted to run a pre-set automation.
This highlights the friction between the old way of using specific commands or routines and the new AI’s conversational approach. It’s a challenge other companies like Google and Apple are also facing as they integrate generative AI into their smart home platforms (learn more about the struggles of adding AI to smart assistants). Rephrasing my request to specifically ask Alexa to “run my ‘make me a coffee’ routine” worked, as did directly asking it to control the coffee machine skill (“Alexa, can you ask my coffee machine to make me a coffee grande?”). The latter worked seamlessly, suggesting that eventually, we might not need complex routines for many tasks.
The new smart home widget and calendar widget on an Echo Show display.
Chatting About Wimbledon
Testing its conversational ability, I asked Alexa Plus about Wimbledon. It provided details on ongoing matches, players, and interesting facts. When I asked for a live score, it gave the set count but not the detailed game breakdown, which was slightly disappointing but still useful. I could then naturally ask it to show the match on YouTube TV, and it successfully launched the app on the integrated Fire TV on my Echo Show.
Trip Planning Takes a Wrong Turn
Planning a family trip, I asked Alexa for day trip ideas near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It suggested Gatlinburg attractions like Ripley’s Aquarium and Dollywood, which was helpful. However, when I asked about Dollywood ticket deals, Alexa confidently quoted a significantly lower price than what was available on the official website. This inaccuracy, while common in early AI chatbots, feels particularly jarring when spoken aloud by a device in your home and highlights the need for crucial real-time accuracy. Amazon acknowledges this is a “known limitation” for Alexa Plus right now.
Routines Made Easier (Mostly)
Creating smart home routines via voice has been a highly anticipated feature. In the past, setting up routines in the Alexa app was often fiddly and time-consuming (see how to set up standard Alexa routines). I asked Alexa to create a routine to dim lights, play music, and adjust the thermostat at a specific time and also via voice command. After some back and forth, it successfully created two separate routines (one for the scheduled time, one for voice, as routines currently only support one trigger) and even offered to test them. This is a promising feature, especially for making smart home control more accessible to family members who don’t dive into app settings.
Other First Impressions
This just feels like a big waste of screen real estate displaying a chatbot conversation on an Echo Show.Beyond the specific task tests, here are a few other observations from my first day:
- Voice Options: The default voice is very upbeat; thankfully, there are other options, including one similar to the original Alexa.
- Multi-Device Control: A standout feature is the ability to control multiple smart home devices in a single request (“Turn off hallway lights, set upstairs thermostat to 78, and start the kitchen vacuum”). This worked perfectly and feels incredibly convenient.
- No Wake Word Needed (Mostly): After the initial “Alexa,” you can continue the conversation without repeating the wake word, making interactions much more natural. A light indicates it’s listening, but it times out fairly quickly.
- New Widgets: Echo Show devices (specifically the 21 and 15) have updated widgets for things like smart home control and calendar, which are more interactive and customizable. However, the full-screen text interface during chatbot conversations feels like a waste of screen space on larger displays.
The Big Picture
After 24 hours, Alexa Plus shows immense potential. It’s far more conversational, capable, and often easier to use for multi-step tasks and controlling multiple devices simultaneously. The ability to ask follow-up questions naturally and create routines by voice are significant improvements.
However, it’s clearly still in early access. The conflict with existing routine structures, occasional inaccuracies (like the trip planning), and the sometimes overwhelming screen layout on Echo Shows are areas that need refinement. The core challenge for Amazon is integrating this powerful, conversational AI with the reliable, action-oriented nature of a smart home assistant that needs to control devices accurately every time.
The biggest change users will likely feel is the increased “personality” and the shift from giving commands to having a conversation. This new interaction style could make smart homes more intuitive or, as my teenage daughter observed, feel a bit unsettling if you’re used to machines acting like, well, machines. It’s an adjustment, but the potential for a truly intelligent, helpful home assistant is definitely there.
Curious about the future of Alexa and other smart home tech? Explore more articles on Amazon’s AI developments and how generative AI is changing our devices.
