Amazon’s long-awaited Alexa AI release is finally here and the company on Wednesday has shared the details about its Gemini AI and ChatGPT rival. Amazon first teased the generative AI powered Alexa at an event in 2023 but we have waited well over a year for the full product to be published and made available. Amazon has talked about having Alexa AI in the premium tier for a monthly fee and this week’s announcement confirms those reports.

Alexa AI Plus is a paid service but the company is giving people the choice to try out the new version with their existing Prime membership which makes it a better deal for the money.

Alexa AI: Can It Rival ChatGPT And Gemini?

Amazon is doing its best to make the AI-powered version smarter and more conversational. The Plus version will help you make grocery orders, or send event invites for friends. The platform will also use the AI smartness to remember your preferences around movies and even food. But that’s not all, Amazon is giving Alexa other powers like, analysing images, and even help you create travel itineraries.

Amazon is bringing the Alexa AI Plus version for $19.99 (Rs 1,720 approx) per month, but for Prime members, who pay $14.99 (Rs 1,290 approx) per month, they get the new AI avatar of Alexa and these new features for free, bundled with their membership. You also get a new Alexa app for the AI assistant and it will be compatible with most Echo devices later this year.

The demos of Alexa AI at the event also showed its value for the ecosystem, where it can track movements through the smart cameras in the house, and tell you if someone has walked the dog recently.

This Alexa is completely new and more capable from the first iterations and all of its powers are boosted by AI. However, Amazon’s decision to charge a fee for the service from day one suggests it means business and now we are hoping that Alexa AI does not have major errors which could make the experience sour very quickly.