I’ll be honest – Alexa and I have had a decent but somewhat distant relationship over the years. She’s good for playing music, turning off my lights, setting a kitchen timer, and telling me the weather, but beyond that, I’ve never fully let her into my life. That all changed when I got my hands on Alexa+ at the launch event in New York.
Alexa+ is Amazon’s new $19.99-per-month (or free for Prime members) AI upgrade, offering smarter and more proactive assistance. It connects to various services, handles tasks on your behalf, and, in my case, made two of my most tedious daily routines far easier – shopping lists and home monitoring.
Let’s start with shopping lists. I have a love-hate relationship with them. More often than not, I jot things down on my phone, scribble notes on the back of envelopes, or, in a moment of overconfidence, assume I’ll remember everything I need (I won’t). With Alexa+, all that chaos is gone. I can simply say, “Alexa, add milk, eggs, and coffee to my shopping list,” and she does it instantly – no app-hunting, no typing. If I later realize I need flour, I can tell her to add it without needing to open a list manually. Even better, Alexa+ can suggest missing items based on past purchases and dietary preferences. When it comes time to shop, I can integrate my list directly into an Amazon Fresh order or pull it up on my phone in-store. It’s a simple feature, but the convenience is game-changing.
When seeing this feature in action, I was amazed at how accurate it was. You can ramble a list off, as a stream of conscious, and Alexa+ picked it up perfectly. The demo included ‘Alexa, add tomatoes, six eggs, milk, ingredients for chicken tacos, actually, I need twelve eggs, orange juice, and those little boxes of raisins for my kid’s lunchbox, to my shopping list’ and Alexa+ picked it all up perfectly. If you’re picky about brands, you can tap on an item in the list and Alexa+ will suggest similar alternatives. I found it all very impressive.
The second feature that genuinely impressed me was Alexa+’s ability to summarize what’s been happening around my home. I have a dog (Reggie) who loves nothing more than going in and out of the garden. With Alexa+, I wouldn’t need to check my camera feeds or guess when he was last let out. I can just ask, “Alexa, has Reggie been outside today?” and she gives me a rundown based on my Ring camera and smart home devices. It’s also incredibly useful for knowing if a package was delivered or if a visitor stopped by while I was out. Instead of scrolling through notifications or hours of footage, I get a quick, personalized update.
If you already own an Echo Show 8, 10, 15, or 21, you’ll be among the first to get Alexa+ as it rolls out. And if you’re a Prime member, you get it for free, which makes it an easy recommendation. For the first time in years, Alexa feels genuinely exciting again.
Liked this? Alexa+: 5 things that impressed me, and 2 that didn’t
