Perth, Aug 6: Amazon has officially launched Alexa+, a new generative AI-powered version of its voice assistant, in Australia — and it will be free for Prime members.
Since debuting in Australia back in 2018, Alexa has become a household fixture, fielding more than two billion interactions a year from Australian users, including over 34 million weather checks and more than 600 million smart home commands in the past 12 months alone.
Alexa+ represents a significant shift from a simple “ask and do” tool to a more conversational assistant that remembers user preferences, anticipates needs — such as adjusting the heating when it senses a temperature drop — and can independently complete tasks like booking restaurants, managing shopping lists, and organising schedules.
The rollout begins today, with thousands of customers set to be invited to try Alexa+ over the coming weeks. Interested users can register at amazon.com.au/newalexa, or gain immediate access by purchasing an eligible Echo device.
A key focus for Amazon has been making Alexa+ sound genuinely Australian. The assistant is designed to understand casual speech, half-finished thoughts, and local slang — from “arvo” and “servo” to “snags” and “bottlo.” A local team of engineers, linguists, and speech scientists has fine-tuned Alexa+ to reflect Australian culture, sporting codes, and social customs, with Amazon framing the effort as genuine cultural fluency rather than simple localisation.
Powered by large language models via Amazon Bedrock, Alexa+ links to services Australians already use daily — including Amazon Music, Spotify, Apple Music, OpenTable, ABC and News24, The Guardian, AAP, and Reuters, with Tripadvisor integration coming soon. The assistant also supports Prime Video, Audible, and Ring smart security devices.
Over time, Alexa+ is designed to personalise further, learning household routines and dietary preferences, and even adjusting its tone to match a user’s mood — such as sharing in the excitement after a footy win.
Amazon says privacy has been built into Alexa+ from the ground up, including a dashboard that lets users review voice recordings, manage stored data, and see exactly what the assistant has heard.
During Early Access, Alexa+ is free for eligible customers. Once broadly available, it will remain free for Prime members, while non-Prime members can access it for AU$29.99 a month. More than 98% of existing Alexa devices in Australia are compatible with the new assistant, though newer devices — including the Echo Show 8 and Echo Dot Max — have been purpose-built for the upgraded experience.
Stay tuned for our full review.
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