A while back, Amazon announced that it’s begun its gradual global roll-out of its new Alexa+ assistant, which brings more advanced AI-powered features to users worldwide. That said, the service is now headed down under on August 6, and Australian customers will receive invitations to an Early Access program for free before it transitions to a bundled benefit for Amazon Prime members.
The Australian rollout follows Alexa+’s arrival across North America and Europe, with Amazon planning to bring Alexa+ to more than 10 additional countries throughout 2027. Existing device owners in Australia can apply for Early Access online, while select new Echo purchases will automatically include access as invitations roll out nationwide.
Photo: Amazon
Running on advanced large language models, Alexa+ moves beyond traditional chat windows to offer a deeply ambient, hands-free experience across Echo devices, Fire TV, mobile apps, and web browsers. The updated system allows users to hold more natural-sounding conversations without repeating wake words, switch seamlessly between topics, and even ask the assistant to remember contextual preferences.
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To ensure that Alexa+ fits naturally into Australian households, Amazon says that it’s tapped local engineering and linguistic teams to tailor the AI to Australian speech patterns, slang, and cultural touchstones, which includes understanding local colloquialisms, in addition to integration with content providers and services including ABC, Sky News, OpenTable, and Tripadvisor. Once the early access program ends, Alexa+ will come at AU$29.99 per month for non-Prime subscribers.