Amazon Launches Alexa Plus For The Web

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After introducing Alexa Plus (Alexa+) last February, Amazon is now ready to make the AI assistant available on the web to Early Access users. By launching Alexa Plus on the web, Amazon wants to ensure that anyone can use the Alexa AI assistant, even if they don't have nearby any Amazon products that ship with Alexa built-in like Echo speakers and Fire TV devices. As for those Amazon customers who are already talking to Alexa Plus via their Amazon gadgets, the arrival of Alexa Plus on the web will make it even easier to interact with the AI assistant.

There's another key reason to make Alexa Plus available via Alexa.com: Amazon can finally compete with chatbots that are far more popular than Alexa, including ChatGPT and Gemini. When ChatGPT went viral in late 2022, it took the technology landscape by storm. Suddenly, most tech companies were responding to ChatGPT by developing their own chatbot alternatives or creating AI-first products. Alexa was already available as a voice assistant on Amazon products at the time, but it wasn't ChatGPT-equivalent.

While Alexa could play music and order products for the user, ChatGPT was answering general questions in natural language. Three years later, chatbots like ChatGPT have gained new abilities, becoming even more useful AI tools than the ChatGPT version that went viral in 2022. However, it's only in early 2026 that Amazon is starting to compete in earnest with other chatbots. That said, Alexa Plus won't exactly be a ChatGPT equivalent.

Amazon said in a press release that Alexa Plus has evolved "rapidly" since February. The AI assistant works with thousands of services and devices, with tens of millions of people having access to it. Amazon said that Alexa Plus has improved the way people use voice assistants. Amazon recorded "twice the conversations, three times the purchases, five times the recipe requests" since launching Alexa Plus last year.

For the web, Amazon advertises a rich Alexa Plus experience. The AI can answer questions, "explore complex topics," create content, plan trips, help with homework, handle documents, and work with other apps and devices. The assistant can help you control your smart home from the web, create to-do lists, update the calendar, and make restaurant reservations. Alexa Plus also supports meal planning and recipe discovery, with deep integration with Amazon Fresh and Whole Foods. That is, Alexa Plus can help you with grocery shopping that meets your needs, as long as you buy those goods from Amazon. 

Alexa Plus can also integrate with other Amazon products, including Fire TV devices. You can ask the assistant about specific shows and personalized recommendations, and Alexa will remember the suggestions on your Fire TV. Alexa can use Echo Show displays to provide recipe guidance. Alexa Plus also works with a myriad of smart home devices, allowing users to control the smart home from the browser. That may mean unlocking the door, checking security cameras, or handling a thermostat. The smart home products that Alexa can control will be available in a sidebar on Alexa.com for quick access.

Alexa Plus may lack more advanced AI features that other chatbots can offer. There's no support for deeper thinking and voice mode, and it's unclear whether it can generate images as easily as products like ChatGPT and Gemini can. Also, it's unclear whether Alexa Plus can offer coding support and deep research reports, features you may be used to from other chatbots. Then again, Alexa Plus is in its early days: Companies like OpenAI and Google have upgraded their chatbots over several years to become the powerful tools they are today.

Put differently, Alexa Plus is available via an Early Access program, which signals Amazon is in those early days of development. Interested Amazon users can sign-up for Early Access to test Alexa Plus on the web. They don't need to have an active Amazon Prime subscription to use Alexa Plus on the web. However, Alexa Plus will be free to Prime users after the Early Access testing ends. Non-Prime users will have to pay $19.99/month for Alexa Plus. The AI assistant is also available on mobile, via the Alexa app.