What if you could have ambient intelligence in your house? What if you could ask questions and have conversations with generative AI, no matter if you wanted to get an answer to a detailed, nuanced question, or perhaps you wanted movie/music/food recommendations based on your preferences and tastes? What if you wanted to settle a debate you’re having with a spouse by consulting a device that has a human-equivalent IQ of 140?
What I am describing is not fantasy; it’s reality if you have any Amazon Alexa devices at home, such as the Amazon Echo, Fire TV, Stick, or Tablet, and you enable Alexa+, which is currently in early access for people with Amazon Prime and a compatible Alexa device.
I was an Alexa early adopter
I have an Echo in almost every room
Credit:Â Brandon Miniman / MakeUseOf
The first generation of Amazon Echo devices were revolutionary but still kind of dumb: they could answer simple queries like “What’s the weather” or “What’s the score of the Eagles game?” or “What is the square root of 144?” but couldn’t answer any questions requiring advanced thinking or nuance, as is the case with today’s generative-AI like ChatGPT and Gemini.
But it was still amazing: having an Echo in almost every room in my house meant I could ask a question from almost any room and get an answer. The Echos are smart enough to divert queries to the nearest device even if multiple Echos “hear” you. Everyone in my family, including my wife and kids, would utilize this ambient intelligence to get information from any room in the house and at any time. But it wasn’t until May 2025, when Alexa+ early access started to hit many of my devices, that my life really changed.
A genius in your house
Alexa+ uses the fantastic Anthropic LLM
Alexa+ uses the latest large language model (LLM) from Anthropic, and it’s very, very good. I would put it on par with Gemini 3 or ChatGPT 5. I’ve tested it with a wide variety of queries. It’s highly accurate and very conversational, and having Alexa+ at home is like having a genius at my disposal from every room, and it’s been life-changing.
Having Alexa+ at home is like having a genius at my disposal from every room, and it’s been life-changing.
Like many, I’ve become so accustomed to using AI to get info, help think through problems, or come up with ideas. Until Alexa+, access to this intelligence required access to a phone or PC, which removed the spontaneity, convenience, and the promise of “intelligence everywhere.” But with Alexa+ on my Echo devices, I don’t have to reach for my phone. I just speak my question, and one of my Echos hears me and gives me an answer. It’s pure magic.
A few examples
It’s all about the prompt
Allow me to share a handful of prompts I’ve given Alexa+ that have yielded incredible answers or sparked fantastic back-and-forth conversations with the AI. Unlike the old Alexa, which is not designed for conversations, Alexa+ “listens” after every response it gives so that you can reply or ask follow-up questions. Here are some prompt examples, the answers of which have delighted me:
“I really like Metallica, Pantera, and other 1980s metal. Recommend some bands that have a similar vibe but that are a bit more modern.”
“Where would I find vanilla extract at Target?”
“I have a 10k gold chain that weighs 25 grams. What is the chain worth today?”
“Compare the weight and thickness of the iPhone Air with the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge.”
“How much oil does Venezuela have relative to other oil-producing nations?”
“Is there any scientific evidence that drinking alcohol while you have a cold can help kill the virus?”
“When a Christmas cactus is blooming, should you change how often you water it to sustain the blooms?”
“My coffee is tasting bitter. I’m using a French press with 2tbps of coffee with 15 ounces of water at 200 degrees Fahrenheit, with a brew time of 4 minutes. Make suggestions on how to reduce the bitter taste.”
“Explain the rules of rugby in very simple terms. Pretend I’m five years old.”
How to get Alexa+ now
Enable early access on compatible devices
While you can use Alexa+ just fine on Echo devices without a screen, getting an Echo Show with a screen (they have many models now) enhances the experience so that Alexa+ can provide visuals to its responses. At home, I have an Echo Studio, several Echo Dots, and an Echo Show 10. They all access Alexa+ equally, but I prefer using the Show because, again, the visual aspect is helpful. You can check the Alexa+ Early Access site to see which of your devices are compatible. As mentioned, it’s free for Prime customers, but it will cost $19.99 per month for non-Prime users. Even if you don’t have Prime, paying a monthly fee for ambient AI in your home is life-changing and well worth it.
Related
Just Bought a Fire TV Stick? Change These Settings Immediately
These tiny tweaks can give your device a nice little performance boost.
