Amazon is launching its advanced AI-powered conversational assistant, Alexa+, in the U.K., marking the first country outside of North America to receive the new AI assistant.
The company is currently offering U.K. users complimentary access to Alexa+ through an early access program. Individuals who purchase a new Amazon Echo device will receive an invitation to this program, and Amazon anticipates enabling Alexa+ for "hundreds of thousands" of customers in the coming weeks.
Upon the conclusion of the early access program, Prime subscribers will be able to utilize Alexa+ at no cost, while non-Prime users will be required to pay £19.99 per month. The company has not yet specified the exact end date for the early access initiative.
Alexa+ is designed to operate seamlessly across Amazon's latest Echo devices, Fire TV, and the Alexa app, maintaining conversational context from one device to another. Amazon also has plans to extend Alexa+'s support to web browsers in the future.
Amazon has confirmed that Alexa+ has been specifically customized for U.K. customers, enabling the assistant to comprehend local context and commonly used phrases.
In a blog post, the company elaborated on its localization efforts: "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."
Amazon further noted that users can solicit suggestions from integrated services such as OpenTable, JustEat, and Treatwell. They can also access news content from prominent sources including The Independent, The Guardian, Press Association, and Future Publishing.
Alexa+ was initially unveiled in February 2025, though its rollout has progressed slowly. By June, Amazon had provided access to only one million users in the U.S. Last month, the company finally made Alexa+ available to all U.S.-based users, having also launched early access programs in Canada and Mexico.
In a recent development last month, Amazon introduced new "personality" options for Alexa+, allowing users to customize the tone of its responses. Earlier this month, an adult-only "Sassy" mode was rolled out, with Amazon affirming that the assistant will not support Not Safe For Work (NSFW) content.
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