Amazon introduced its advanced AI version, Alexa+, almost a year ago, but one essential capability was absent until recently: interacting with it through a web browser.
The company has now delivered on that aspect, launching a dedicated Alexa+ site at Alexa.com, available initially to select participants in the early access program.
Users familiar with web versions of ChatGPT or Google Gemini will recognize the layout of the Alexa+ online interface. It features a prominent chat window in the middle, topped by a welcoming message like 'Hello Ben, how can I help?', plus interactive elements that display prompt ideas such as planning a vacation itinerary, sharing an intriguing trivia item, scheduling a calendar entry, generating a dinosaur illustration, or reserving a spot at a local eatery when hovered over.
The interface's left panel provides quick links to past conversations with Alexa+ (useful for picking up threads started on Echo devices), simple smart home management options, access to schedules, to-do lists, alerts, and any documents you've shared.
The file-sharing functionality stands out, enabling tasks like submitting job applications for review or other materials for examination by Alexa+.
In a test, I shared a setup script for installing the Jellyfin streaming software on a Raspberry Pi device, and Alexa+ effectively reviewed the script, providing solid advice for improvements. (Much of Alexa+'s intelligence draws from Anthropic's Claude model.) The discussion seamlessly transferred to an Echo device, where we kept exploring Jellyfin tweaks.
Additionally, the web version enhances Alexa+'s document creation tools, such as drafting correspondence. Previously, obtaining generated content like a gratitude note for copying into an editor was cumbersome, even via the mobile Alexa app. Now, a simple Copy option appears under each reply, mirroring the ease of ChatGPT or Gemini.
Copying chat content is straightforward in the Alexa+ web setup.
That said, the Alexa+ web experience remains basic relative to competitors like ChatGPT or Gemini, lacking personalized AI variants, specialized extensions, creative workspaces, media production tools, or structured tutorial features. File uploads worked for Word files, plain text, and PDFs, but spreadsheets and certain formats like JSON required conversion to text first—in my case, for the Jellyfin script.
Similar to how ChatGPT and Gemini have evolved, the Alexa+ site should gain more capabilities soon, and the mere availability of web chatting represents a significant step forward.
Alexa+ remains in its preview phase, offered at no cost to all users for the time being. In the future, it will be complimentary for Amazon Prime subscribers and cost $19.99 monthly for non-members.
This report contributes to TechHive's comprehensive reporting on leading smart speaker technologies.