Amazon’s Alexa+ AI assistant is now rolling out to all Amazon customers in the United Kingdom, thanks to an early access program. The UK is the first European country to get access to Amazon’s upgraded virtual assistant, joining the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Amazon says the new Alexa+ – which has been in testing since February 2025 – is “genuinely conversational, deeply personal, and designed to take action in the real world.”
The company says Alexa+ is much more capable than the prior version of Alexa, thanks to its updated architecture that uses large language models from Amazon Nova and Anthropic.
Access to Alexa+ will be free during Early Access. After the Early Access period expires, it will be free for Prime members or will cost £19.99/month for non-Prime customers.
Alexa+ stands out from other AI assistants. Firstly, it has ambient intelligence: Alexa+ is always available, being there when you need it and fading into the background when you don’t.
To be truly ambient, Alexa+ operates throughout the day across your devices—it’s not sitting in a chat window waiting for a prompt. It’s there when you are rushing out of the door with your hands full, when you are coming home from work thinking about everything that needs to get done, or in the kitchen when you are making dinner catching up with family.
Users can now talk to Alexa more naturally, easily change conversation topics, and there is no longer a need to repeat the wake word every time remembers the context of conversations so you can seamlessly pick up wherever you left off, whether it’s on an Echo device, Fire TV, in the Alexa app, or (soon) in a browser.
Alexa+ is also more personal, learning you preferences, understanding your household’s routines, and adapting to your life. The more you interact with Alexa+, the more it gets to know you.
Alexa+ can do things like order takeaway (carry out in the US), make reservations, schedule repairs, and more. It works with smart home devices and can integrate with Ring cameras.
Alexa+ in the UK has been built to feel genuinely British.
Alexa+ knows what a “cuppa” is, will understand what you mean when you say you are “knackered,” and knows that “it’s nippy” means it’s chilly outside. It may even drop “you’re taking the mickey” or “Bob’s your uncle” into conversation.
Take something as simple as dates—in the U.S. people say “March 15th,” but British people say “the 15th of March.” Or take the word “entrée”—in the U.S. it means the main course, but in the UK it refers to a starter. Getting these details right is the difference between feeling understood and feeling like you’re talking to a translator.
Local teams including engineers, linguists, and speech scientists at Amazon’s Tech Hub in Cambridge, UK, have used different techniques—such as reinforcement learning accent neutral speech representations, and regional embeddings—to make sure Alexa+ genuinely understands British customers.
Customers who purchase a new eligible Echo device in the U.K. will be granted Early Access, while customers who already have a compatible device can register to receive an invite. Alexa+ is compatible with the majority of Echo devices, compatible Fire TV devices, and the Alexa app. Web browser support is coming soon.