Amazon 2025 Event: Gen AI-Powered Alexa Plus Paid Model Announced

Amazon hosted its highly-anticipated Devices event late on Wednesday, dedicating the entire presentation to Alexa Plus, its new artificial intelligence (AI)-augmented virtual assistant. Unlike previous events, Amazon did not introduce any new hardware products, instead concentrating exclusively on showcasing the capabilities of its next-generation Alexa.

This launch could mean a significant improvement over the original Alexa's functionality and position Amazon to rival the increasingly competitive AI assistant market.

“We have been using AI expansively for over 25 years. And the way we think about AI and technology in general at Amazon is that we don't use the technology because we think it's cool or interesting. It is—but we use it to solve real customer problems,” Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said in a statement. 

Premium Alexa Plus Announced

Amazon announced that Alexa Plus will be available through a subscription model priced at $20 per month. However, Amazon Prime members will have access to the service at no additional cost.

This pricing structure matches that of OpenAI's ChatGPT Plus subscription, though it exceeds initial industry predictions that suggested a monthly fee between $5 and $10.

"Alexa+ costs $19.99 per month, but is free for all Prime members. Alexa+ will start rolling out in the U.S. in the next few weeks, and subsequently in waves in the coming months starting with households with Echo Show 8, 10, 15, and 21," the company said in a statement.

AI Landscape

The announcement comes as other technology firms have made substantial advancements in the virtual assistant space. OpenAI's tech powers both ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot, while Google has enhanced its Assistant with Gemini technology, and Apple has integrated proprietary large language models into Siri.

Amazon's Alexa Plus will use Amazon Bedrock models, including Nova and Anthropic.

What Happens To Classic Alexa

For users who prefer not to subscribe to the new service, Amazon confirmed that "Classic Alexa" will remain available. However, the company has not specified how long it plans to maintain support for the original version.