Amazon introduces Alexa+

Background

Alexa+ is the next-generation version of the Alexa assistant that Amazon first introduced with its Echo devices.^[2] Development of the new assistant began when Amazon directed Alexa staff to train a large language model codenamed "Olympus".^[2]

What happened

On 26 February 2025 Amazon introduced Alexa+, its next-generation assistant powered by generative AI.^[1] Amazon demonstrated agentic tasks such as booking restaurants and services and ordering groceries and food delivery.^[1]

Key details

Amazon priced Alexa+ at $19.99 a month, free for Prime members.^[1][2] Amazon listed four personality styles, called Brief, Chill, Sweet and Sassy, and said conversations continue across Echo devices, the Alexa app and the web.^[1]

Anthropic announced the same day that its Claude models were part of Alexa+. The assistant also uses Amazon's Nova models.^[2]

The assistant later launched on the web at Alexa.com in January 2026. It became available to everyone in the US on 4 February 2026.^[2]

Amazon presented the new assistant as a conversational one. Conversations continue across Echo devices, the Alexa app and the web, so a user can start a request on one and carry on with another.^[1] The launch also gave the assistant tasks beyond answering questions, such as bookings and food orders, which involve other companies' services.^[1] The four personality styles, Brief, Chill, Sweet and Sassy, let users choose how the assistant sounds in conversation.^[1]

Anthropic's announcement placed Claude alongside Amazon's own models in the same product, which made the assistant one of the places where both companies' models were used together.^[2]

Impact

The launch brought generative AI into the Alexa voice assistant, which had been on Echo devices. It was introduced as the next generation of Alexa, and its features are available across Echo devices, the Alexa app and the web.^[1] Its use of several model providers, Amazon's own Nova models and Anthropic's Claude, was announced in the same launch.^[1][2]