Alexa+ lands in UK as Amazon seeks to ignite AI offering

Amazon has brought its upgraded Alexa+ voice assistant to the UK, its first European launch, as it tries to catch up in a crowded AI assistant market. The service, which uses generative AI for more natural conversations and can handle multiple tasks in a single request, is rolling out via early access before a wider release in the coming weeks. Alexa+ is already available in the US, Canada and Mexico.

The UK version includes features tuned to local language, accents and dialects by teams at Amazon’s Cambridge Tech Hub. Alexa+ works across devices rather than in a single app and can manage bookings, shopping and smart home controls. Non-Prime users will pay £19.99 per month, while Prime subscribers get it at no extra cost. Analysts note the UK remains a key market, but warn Amazon has fallen behind rivals like Google’s Gemini and OpenAI’s ChatGPT after delays caused by technical issues. They argue Amazon must move quickly and lean on its large base of Echo devices in homes.