Amazon recently held its first major product event of the year, and as anticipated, it primarily focused on Alexa. The company initially announced its next-generation, AI-powered voice assistant in 2023. However, technical issues led to a delay in its formal unveiling and rollout. Amazon’s hardware chief, Panos Panay, and his devices and services team showcased Alexa+ at the event.

A comprehensive rundown of Amazon’s announcements at its first product event of 2025 is as follows:

Alexa+

Following an extensive discussion on generative AI by Amazon CEO Andy Jassy at the event, Panay took the stage to share the key announcements. Alexa+ is the name of the company’s upgraded voice assistant. The rollout of Alexa+ is scheduled to begin next month, starting with Echo Show devices, and will be available for $20 per month. However, Prime members will have access to it at no additional cost. Currently, Prime membership costs $15 per month, which may lead to a potential price increase.

Alexa+ is designed to be more conversational and useful across compatible devices. It can recall users’ preferences, such as food likes and dislikes, and incorporate them into recipe requests. Additionally, Alexa+ can detect the user’s tone and mood. During a live demo, it appeared to help Panay remain calm during his presentation.

Panay stated that smart home management has been transformed with Alexa+, enabling users to move music from an Echo device to another speaker or TV, or jump to a specific scene in a movie on Prime Video.

Amazon claims that the upgraded voice assistant can answer questions about footage from Ring cameras, photos taken with an Echo Show, emails, files like PDFs, handwritten notes, calendars, upcoming sports games, and more. Alexa+ can use a service called Suno to generate custom songs on the fly.

Similar to OpenAI’s partnership with ChatGPT, Amazon has collaborated with several news organizations to provide current information on various topics. Other partners include Uber for ride ordering, OpenTable for restaurant reservations, Spotify, Sonos, Samsung, Xbox, Tidal, Dyson, NASA, and “tens of thousands” more. Amazon Fresh integration allows for grocery ordering, and users can view their cart on their screen.

Alexa+ also features kid-friendly functions, including the ability to tell customized stories using genAI based on what kids want to hear. It can also answer their questions, potentially without providing incorrect or false results that delayed Alexa+.

Panay introduced the announcement and demos by acknowledging that the current Alexa can be frustrating to use but genAI can help alleviate those issues. He added that an AI chatbot alone would not be sufficient for Amazon’s vision for Alexa, and people need something easy to use that allows them to “actually take action.” With Alexa+, Panay claimed that the “intimidation factor” of genAI is no longer a concern.

Alexa+ can be accessed through various means beyond just an Echo device. Amazon revealed that users will be able to use the upgraded voice assistant via alexa.com. Although the website currently appears basic, a demo at the event indicated that users will be able to type in queries soon. Amazon is also revamping the Alexa iOS and Android apps to include access to the upgraded assistant.

New devices

There were no significant announcements regarding new devices. It was widely expected that Amazon would introduce new hardware to accompany Alexa+, such as updated Echo Buds, Echo speakers, smart displays, and more.

However, the event focused solely on the upgraded voice assistant, which initially requires a screen like an Echo Show, smartphone, or computer to use. Nevertheless, the company claims that Alexa+ will be compatible with nearly every Alexa-enabled device it has released.