Alexa Plus arrives in early access on Echo Show, free for Prime members

Amazon’s shiny new AI-powered assistant, Alexa Plus, has officially hit the scene—at least for a lucky few. Launched in early access as of March 31, 2025, this next-gen version of Alexa promises to be smarter, chattier, and more helpful than ever. But here’s the catch: it’s not quite the full package yet.

Amazon spokesperson Kristy Schmidt confirmed to The Verge that Alexa Plus is rolling out to a “small number” of users to start. Think of it like an exclusive VIP party—except instead of champagne and tiny sandwiches, you get a souped-up voice assistant on select Echo Show devices (the 8, 10, 15, and 21 models, to be exact). If you’re still rocking an older Echo Dot or a non-screen Alexa gadget, you’re out of luck for now. But for those invited to the early access club, it’s a chance to test drive what Amazon’s been hyping up since its big reveal back in February.

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So, what’s Alexa Plus bringing to the table? According to Amazon’s early access page, it’s got some cool tricks up its sleeve. You can ask it to order an Uber, draft an email, or even play detective by identifying objects you show it through your Echo Show’s camera. Need a quick summary of that random PDF you uploaded? Alexa Plus has you covered—though, fair warning, it can’t delete those files just yet. Amazon’s still tinkering with that feature, so if you’re worried about clutter, you’ll need to hit up customer service to zap them for you. It’s also got some shopping chops, letting you search for specific products with your voice. Handy, right?

But here’s where things get a little messy. Remember all those dazzling features Amazon teased at its Devices & Services event a while back? Stuff like brainstorming gift ideas for your picky cousin, ordering groceries without lifting a finger, or pulling up Alexa Plus in your browser? Yeah, those aren’t here yet. The Washington Post dug into this and found that some of the promised goodies—like ordering takeout from Grubhub based on your casual chit-chat or recognizing your kid’s face to nag them about chores—didn’t make the cut for this early access launch. Amazon’s own words? They “don’t yet meet [our] standards for public release.” Translation: they’re still in the oven, and we’re just getting the appetizer course.

And if you’ve got little ones who were psyched for the Kids Plus perks—like “Stories With Alexa,” where the assistant spins interactive tales—sorry, folks, that’s a no-go for now too. It’s a bit of a bummer, especially since Amazon pitched Alexa Plus as a family-friendly upgrade. For now, it’s more of a solo act, sticking to the basics while the engineers iron out the kinks.

So, why the stripped-down debut? Well, Amazon’s playing it smart—or cautious, depending on how you look at it. “We’re releasing a bunch of features to start, and we’ll continue to launch new features in waves,” Schmidt told The Verge. It’s a classic tech move: roll out the minimum viable product, let the early adopters poke at it, and then build on the feedback. Plus, with a price tag of $19.99 a month (or free if you’re an Amazon Prime member), they’ve got some wiggle room to keep the hype alive while they polish the rest. Speaking of Prime, that perk’s a big deal—considering a Prime subscription is $14.99 a month or $139 a year, it’s basically a no-brainer for members to get Alexa Plus tossed in for free.

Let’s rewind a sec to how we got here. Amazon dropped the Alexa Plus bombshell back in February at its 2025 Devices & Services event, touting it as a generative AI-powered leap forward. Think less “Alexa, play my workout playlist” and more “Alexa, plan my week, book me a ride, and tell me what to cook with the leftovers in my fridge.” It’s built on cutting-edge language models (powered by Amazon’s Bedrock platform and Anthropic’s tech, if you’re into the nerdy details), and it’s supposed to learn your quirks—your favorite tunes, your dietary preferences, even your family’s chore schedule. The dream? An assistant that’s less robot, more sidekick. But dreams take time, and this early access version feels like Alexa Plus is still finding its footing.

For context, Alexa’s been around since 2014, when the first Echo speaker dropped and kicked off the smart speaker craze. It’s grown from a basic music player to a home hub that controls your lights, locks, and life. But lately, competitors like Google’s Gemini and OpenAI’s ChatGPT have been stealing the AI spotlight, pushing Amazon to up its game. Alexa Plus is that big swing—a bid to stay relevant in a world where voice assistants are expected to do more than just set timers.

So, should you care? If you’re a Prime member with a compatible Echo Show, you can sign up on Amazon’s site to get notified when early access hits your doorstep. It’s a low-risk way to peek at the future of Alexa—free for you, and no long-term commitment since the original Alexa stays an option if Plus isn’t your vibe.