Amazon claims broad compatibility for its upgraded AI assistant Alexa+ across nearly all its devices. During last week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the company detailed plans to exploit its massive smart home presence and users’ established rapport with Alexa for swift AI adoption.
Over 600 million Alexa-enabled devices have sold globally since the Echo’s debut. “Ninety-seven percent of devices we ever shipped can support Alexa+,” Amazon Alexa and Echo vice president Daniel Rausch said in a CES interview. The upgrade blends cloud-based generative AI with local processing to empower older hardware for natural conversations and task automation.
Unveiled early last year, Alexa+ brings lifelike voices, extensive knowledge access, and agents for actions like booking rides or food deliveries. Access has grown from one million users by mid-2025 to tens of millions today, prioritising Prime members ahead of a full rollout.
Rausch predicts Alexa among elite generalist AIs amid niche rivals. “I think that there’s going to be a whole range of AI out there for customers. I think that Alexa will be one of the foundational assistants,” he stated.
“I think some of the advantages Alexa has is the familiarity of customers, the tens of millions of customers already engaging continuously. It’s in the home, ambiently available, in voice, in the most natural interface. I do believe that that’s our opportunity to grow.”
Early metrics show boosted interactions, smarter home controls, and faster shopping. Amazon faces pressure from Apple’s Siri-Gemini tie-up and chatbots like ChatGPT in research, health, and coding.
Recent moves include web access, a chatbot-focused app, CES demos by Samsung, BMW, and Oura, plus the Bee wearable acquisition for conversation insights. Rausch deems Bee “an important and lovable experience” with future Alexa synergy.