Alexa+ has officially gone international, with Canada being its first destination.
Amazon has announced its next-generation AI-powered assistant for Canadian users, and it’s included as a free benefit for Prime members. The early access phase is free for all participants, although non-Prime customers can pay for access later.
Amazon says Alexa+ is built around natural conversations rather than strict voice commands. When you say something like “It’s cold,” Alexa+ knows that you should turn up the heat, and when you say something like “It’s dark,” it turns on the lights without having to remember the specific phrase. The assistant is also tailored to Canadian life, recognizing regional expressions, following local hockey teams and music, and integrating with services like CBC and OpenTable to help you feel more at home in Canada.
Alexa+ runs on a large language model through Amazon Bedrock and uses a new architecture that allows you to orchestrate many services and devices at once. This setup gives you more agent-like functionality, allowing you to plan trips with Fodor, reserve tables at restaurants, check local news, and manage your smart home. It also helps you with your shopping by comparing products and reordering your usual essentials. Amazon says more partners will be coming soon, including Yelp, Uber Eats, Suno and TripAdvisor, as well as adding service in Canada.
Personalization is at the heart of what Alexa+ is trying to do. Alexa+ uses audio and visual identification to know who’s talking and can tailor its tone, suggestions, and routines to each person in your family. Over time, you’ll learn what you like to listen to, how you like to unwind, and even the foods and ingredients that certain family members avoid. That knowledge is reflected in the routines that Alexa+ creates over time. After a long day, they might dim the lights, start their favorite playlist and suggest a short meditation, or remember that their mom is a vegetarian when recommending a recipe or a nearby restaurant.
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Amazon also emphasizes that privacy controls remain central. Customers can use the Alexa Privacy Dashboard to review interactions and manage recordings and notes. Echo devices also still include hardware controls for the microphone and camera, as well as a clear indicator when Alexa is listening.
Alexa+ will remain free for Prime members after early access ends, but non-Prime customers will pay $27.99 CAD per month if they want to subscribe. Early access is now rolling out across Canada.
You can sign up on Amazon Canada’s new Alexa page or by purchasing one of the latest Echo devices designed with additional processing power and sensors to take full advantage of Alexa+ and its more ambient generative AI capabilities.
The article Amazon’s Alexa+ is finally launching outside the US appeared first on The Ambient.
