I owned a lot of Alexa-powered devices in my former home. There were Amazon Echos in most rooms, including an older Echo Plus in the living room, a few Dots, a Spot in a bedroom, and an Echo Show in the kitchen. A Fire TV ran in the bedroom, and a rarely used Fire HD tablet sat collecting dust in a drawer.
After losing the home in a March 2024 house fire, we now have the opportunity to create a more modernized smart home once we rebuild. But the question remains: Does Alexa still deserve to be the center of our connected home?
To find out, I’m testing Amazon’s AI-powered devices, experimenting with AI queries, and documenting my thoughts in a multi-part series. My goal is to provide real-world insights into how well Alexa performs, beyond company demos.
Alexa once felt revolutionary, giving users Star Trek-like control over their homes. But in the ChatGPT era, where AI can engage in text and voice conversations, answer complex questions, create art, and even perform online tasks, Alexa no longer seems as cutting-edge.
In February 2025, Amazon announced a major overhaul of its digital voice assistant with Alexa+, powered by generative AI. The service began rolling out in March and is now available to millions of users. Alexa+ is model-agnostic, meaning it can use different AI models—including those from Anthropic and Amazon Nova—to answer questions or complete tasks.
Amazon teased that Alexa+ could do more than set timers, control smart home devices, and answer basic questions. It can analyze information from user accounts, understand schedules and preferences, remember details, process files, and even summarize Ring camera footage. The company also partnered with services to enable actions like booking reservations, ordering rides, or buying tickets. Essentially, Alexa+ aims to bring agentic AI into the home.
But before diving into advanced features, I wanted to test the basics.
**Setting Up Alexa+ on an Echo Spot**
I tested Alexa+ on a new Echo Spot after being accepted into the beta. Since I couldn’t connect smart home devices in my temporary Airbnb, I focused on testing the AI’s capabilities.
Setup was easier than with past devices—just scan a QR code in the Alexa app, and it automatically connects to Wi-Fi. I accepted the free upgrade to Alexa+, knowing I could revert to the old version if needed.
Onboarding included a short video explaining that Alexa learns over time and instructions on how to interact with it. I linked my Google account, granting access to my inbox and calendar. Oddly, the app showed a blank screen after linking, but closing it confirmed the connection.
Next, I selected services to integrate with Alexa+, including OpenTable, Ticketmaster, Uber, and Thumbtack. Granting permissions was tedious but reassuring, as I could review each request. The app noted that services like Uber Eats and Grubhub would be added later.
The Alexa app’s design remains lackluster—cluttered yet plain, with confusing navigation. Finding settings, like linking a preferred music service, was unintuitive. I set Spotify as my default for music and podcasts, but the app failed to recognize Audible for audiobooks, displaying an error instead.
**Testing Alexa+’s Capabilities**
I explored several features to see if Alexa+ lived up to Amazon’s promises.
**Managing Family Schedules**
Alexa+ claims to help with calendar management, including summarizing the day, adding events, and identifying conflicts.
When I asked about my schedule, Alexa responded well, allowing follow-up questions without needing to say “Alexa” again. However, it interrupted me mid-sentence when I tried adding a meeting, asking for the title prematurely.
Checking voice history was another hiccup. Alexa directed me to the wrong section in the app, but I found it under “Recent Chats” instead.
**Remembering Information**
Alexa+ is supposed to store details like frequent flier numbers. My attempt to save my Delta SkyMiles number was frustrating. Alexa cut me off, claimed to save it, then couldn’t recall it correctly—reading it as a long numeral instead of digit-by-digit.
**Email Summaries**
I forwarded a school email to Alexa+ to test its summarization skills. It correctly extracted key dates but only added the three nearest ones to my calendar, missing others listed under “Important Dates.”
**Price Tracking**
Alexa+ can track Amazon prices and notify users of sales. When I asked to monitor a skincare serum and a Coach handbag, it set up trackers but couldn’t tell me current prices or stock status for the bag’s blue variant, even though it was listed as temporarily out of stock on Amazon.
**Initial Verdict**
Alexa+ feels like a beta product—promising but flawed. It struggles with basic tasks, misses details, and sometimes doesn’t respond at all. If these out-of-the-box features are hit-or-miss, I’m skeptical about its ability to handle more complex, agentic AI tasks.
In the next installment, I’ll test Alexa+’s AI further, including its ability to take actions on behalf of users.