Alexa+ has arrived: What is Amazon’s service missing?

Amazon’s latest evolution of its voice assistant, Alexa+, promises a more intelligent and natural AI experience, bringing it closer to competitors like ChatGPT and Google Gemini. With generative AI at its core, Alexa+ introduces a range of enhanced capabilities—but it’s launching without some of the most anticipated features.

What’s new with Alexa+

The integration of generative AI allows Alexa+ to understand context, colloquial speech, and complex commands more fluidly. It also offers a deeper level of personalization, remembering what you’ve bought, watched, or listened to, and even recognizing key dates, preferences, and allergies. A new ‘experts’ feature enables smooth integration with external services, letting Alexa+ manage smart homes, grocery orders, or even event reminders.

Alexa+ now allows users to upload documents, emails, and photos, enabling the assistant to organize calendars, summarize files, and streamline everyday tasks. These additions make it far more useful as a productivity tool, not just a home assistant.

What features are missing

Despite these advances, several promised features are missing from the initial release. Alexa+ can’t yet generate personalized children’s stories, brainstorm gift ideas, or identify family members visually through devices—capabilities that were originally teased by Amazon. A web version is also absent for now.

According to Amazon, these omissions are due to quality concerns, and the company has stated that the features will arrive in future updates. While this is not unusual for tech rollouts, it does temper expectations for users hoping for a fully realized generative AI experience at launch.

For now, Alexa+ offers a solid upgrade, but some of the most exciting functions are still on the horizon.