Amazon has officially launched its AI-powered Alexa Plus – but it’s only available to a “small number” of customers to start, Amazon spokesperson Kristy Schmidt confirmed to The Verge. As shown on its early access page, Alexa Plus also doesn’t come with all the features Amazon showcased during its recent devices event, like the ability to brainstorm gift ideas, order groceries with your voice, or access Alexa Plus in your browser.
Alexa Plus just launched in early access, but it’s missing some features
The upgraded AI assistant still can’t brainstorm gift ideas or help you order groceries.
The upgraded AI assistant still can’t brainstorm gift ideas or help you order groceries.
There are some other missing features that “don’t yet meet Amazon’s standards for public release,” according to a report from The Washington Post. Alexa Plus still can’t order takeout from Grubhub using context from a conversation, nor can it identify family members around the house and give them reminders to do chores. You won’t be able to access Kids Plus features, such as Stories With Alexa, either.
For now, Alexa Plus is only available on Echo Show 8, 10, 15, and 21 devices. Amazon’s Alexa Plus early access page shows that the assistant can currently do things like order an Uber, identify objects, draft emails, and search for particular products.
Alexa Plus can also summarize uploaded documents at launch, but Amazon’s early access page notes that it’s still working on rolling out the ability to delete these files. “In the meantime, you can always contact Customer Service to have original attachments deleted,” Amazon says.
Amazon announced Alexa Plus in February, which is available on most Echo devices for $19.99 per month, or for free through Prime. You can sign up to be notified about early access for Alexa Plus on Amazon’s website. “We’re releasing a bunch of features to start, and we’ll continue to launch new features in waves,” Schmidt said