Amazon Alexa+ Arrives in India for Free for Everyone With Smarter Conversations, Agentic Features, and More

Amazon has launched its AI-powered Alexa+ voice assistant in India, eight years after Alexa first arrived in the country. The upgraded assistant is available for free to all users in India starting today, with support for both Hindi and Hinglish at launch. As per the company, Alexa+ is designed to make interactions more conversational while handling more complex requests. India is also the first country where Amazon is bringing Alexa+ and Amazon Now together.

Alexa+ Now Available in India

The Redmond-based tech giant says the arrival of Alexa+ marks the first international expansion of its AI-powered assistant to the country. Alexa was launched in India eight years ago, and Amazon is now introducing its more capable generative AI-based version to users in the country.

Alexa+ is free for everyone in India beginning today. During the early access phase, users can access the upgraded assistant without requiring a subscription. Amazon has also confirmed that Alexa+ will be available at no additional cost to Prime members after the early-access period ends.

Among the notable highlights for the Indian market is language support. As per the company, Alexa+ can understand and respond in Hindi and Hinglish at launch, with access to more languages confirmed to be added soon.

Another India-specific integration is with Amazon's quick-commerce business. The company says India is the first country where Amazon is bringing Alexa+ and Amazon Now together. This means the AI voice assistant will be integrated with Amazon's quick-commerce experience. As users continue to make requests, Alexa+ can add the requested items to the cart. However, the order will not be automatically placed and a manual voice confirmation needs to be provided.

Alexa+ can follow the thread of a conversation and add requested items to the Amazon Now cart as the user continues making requests. However, the assistant will not place the order automatically. The user will need to provide voice confirmation before the order is placed

With Alexa+, users can have more natural conversations with the assistant. It can understand context across multiple requests, eliminating the need to repeat information when continuing a conversation. The assistant can also remember certain information shared by users, including preferences and important details, and use that information to personalise future interactions. Alexa+ is claimed to be capable of answering questions, controlling compatible smart home devices, and helping users complete tasks across supported services.

Amazon's latest generation of consumer hardware, such as the newer Fire and Echo devices, comes with Alexa+ out of the box.