Amazon has announced Alexa Plus, along with a dizzying amount of news at the Amazon Alexa event today (February 26).
We've been following along on our Amazon event live blog, but if you're looking for a quick cheat sheet you've come to the right place.
Here are the 7 biggest announcements and demos from today's Amazon event.
Alexa Plus is here
In a nutshell, Amazon Alexa Plus is Amazon's next-generation assistant that's powered by generative AI. The assistant is a lot more conversational, and can have flowing conversations with you.
Alexa Plus can learn from you the more you use it, getting to know your preferences around entertainment, food and more.
The most important Alexa Plus upgrade is that it can do things on your behalf, including everything from study help to ordering groceries.
For example, you could say "I need everything for banana bread except the spices" and Alexa Plus will build out your shopping list.
You can also use Alexa Plus to watch for lower-priced tickets to a baseball game and let you know when the price drops below a certain point.
Alexa Plus will work with third parties via AI agents. So you could tell Alexa that your oven isn't working, and it will return a list of repair services. Alexa would then contact them via Thumbtack.
Alexa Plus pricing and availability
The bad news is that Alexa Plus costs $19.99 per month. The good news is that it's free for Amazon Prime members.
Alexa Plus will start rolling out in the US. in the next few weeks.
Alexa Plus device support — we have bad news
Anyone with a smartphone will be able to access the new Alexa Plus via a new Alexa app. But when it comes to smart home device support, the service is very limited.
Amazon says that only households with the Amazon Echo Show 8, Echo Show 10, Echo Show 15 and Echo Show 21.
That means at least for now Alexa Plus will be off limits for any devices that don't have a display, such as Echo speakers and the Echo Dot.
Alexa Plus and smart home
Alexa Plus has a ton of smart home capabilities built in. You can create new Routines just by using your voice — without having to use the app.
You can also use Alexa Plus to discover what music to listen to next or say something like "play the music everywhere but don't wake the baby." So Alexa will know not to play in the nursery.
If you happen to have a Ring subscription, Alexa Plus can provide a quick summary of detected camera events. You can even ask specific questions like "When was the last time the dog went out for a walk?"
Alexa Plus can be your second brain
You'll be able to share a wide range of documents with Alexa Plus so it can extract and recall info for you. Thosedocuments could be anything from emails and manuals to family recipes and study materials.
Don't have time to read all the emails from your kid's school? You can ask questions like "do I need to bring anything to the school fundraiser?"
Alexa Plus for kids
There's two Alexa Plus features designed for kids. The first is Explore with Alexa. Kids can ask all sorts of questions around various topics, including geography, biology and more.
Then there's Stories with Alexa. Amazon's assistant can help you create stories on the fly. For example, "Alexa, create a story about a bearded dragon that plays a saxophone."
As a parent, though, I'd be wary of letting Alexa make up stories without me being in the room.
Alexa Plus will work with services like OpenTable and Uber
Alexa Plus will work with multiple services behind the scenes to get stuff done for you. You'll be able to make a dinner reservation via OpenTable or book an Uber for a friend to meet you for lunch.
Amazon announced a preview of the new Alexa AI Multi-Agent SDK that will let brands showcase their agent alongside Alexa. Think of it as the new Alexa skills.
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