Alexa+ AI Assistant: A Promising Yet Challenging Smart Home Upgrade

Key Points

1. Amazon announced Alexa+ in February 2025 as a major upgrade to its AI-powered assistant, integrating generative AI to expand functionality.

2. Setup for Alexa+ on devices like the Amazon Echo Spot is smoother, requiring only a QR code scan, but the Alexa app remains cluttered and sparse.

3. Alexa+ aims to manage family schedules but encounters hiccups like interruptions during event additions and unclear voice chat history access.

4. Memory functions, such as recalling frequent flier numbers, are inconsistent, with issues in accurate saving and retrieval of information.

5. While Alexa+ can summarize emails and track prices, it struggles with immediate price checks and inventory accuracy, indicating room for improvement.