Amazon introduces Alexa+, a generative AI-powered assistant with a monthly fee of $19.99, free for Prime members.

The effort carries significant weight at Amazon, which has plowed billions of dollars into Alexa since its launch in 2014.

It's called Alexa+, and the idea behind it is that generative AI can take the voice assistant to the next level.

Alexa+, Amazon’s revamped version of Alexa was unveiled Wednesday, bringing the popular voice assistant into the artificial intelligence era.

Voice assistant Alexa is expected to get a major artificial intelligence upgrade from Amazon tomorrow, and it could change how we interact with this popular piece of smart home tech. Amazon is hosting an event in New York City on Feb.

Online retail behemoth Amazon on Wednesday announced a new version of its Alexa voice assistant that is powered by generative artificial intelligence, giving the device more human-like qualities.

Amazon has been working for years to overhaul Alexa with generative AI features as it faced rising competition from OpenAI’s ChatGPT and other chatbots.

In today’s edition…Amazon introduces its new generative AI-powered Alexa; Microsoft workers protest AI deals with the Israeli military; Meta looks to go big on a new data center campus; Chegg sues Google over AI Overviews;

Amazon debuted a more sophisticated version of Alexa on Wednesday that’s more conversational and can handle tasks on your behalf. But in a surprising departure from its usual playbook, the company didn’t announce new Echo devices to go with its revamped digital helper.

Amazon focused heavily on agentic AI features for Alexa+, including the ability to draft and send text messages and emails to contacts. This is not especially new or revolutionary given the recent agentic AI explosion in the tech world, but it's still worth talking about.

As Amazon reinvents Alexa, it remains the most trusted smart home assistant -- but our exclusive CNET survey shows trust and cost remain key concerns.