• Source:JND

Amazon has finally brought Alexa+ to India. The new version of its voice assistant is built around generative AI and is meant to handle conversations in a more natural way, while also taking care of tasks such as controlling smart home devices, finding recipes, shopping and planning trips.

Alexa+ is available in India from today as part of an Early Access programme. Customers can use it for free on eligible Echo smart speakers and smart displays, Fire TV streaming devices and the Alexa mobile app. Amazon says browser access will be added soon.

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The assistant supports English, Hindi and Hinglish at launch. More Indian languages are expected to be added later.

You Can Talk To Alexa+ More Naturally

With Alexa+, users don't have to keep saying "Alexa" before every question. Once the assistant is activated, the conversation can continue naturally, even when the subject changes.

It can also follow requests where Hindi and English are mixed together. For example, someone could ask, "Alexa, which is that iconic song जहाँ hero सरसों के खेत में mandolin बजाता है?" and Alexa+ is designed to understand the reference and play the song.

The idea is to make interactions less dependent on remembering specific commands.

Alexa+ Can Control More Things Around The House

The same approach applies to smart home controls. Instead of remembering the name of a particular device, users can simply describe what they want.

A request such as "Alexa, room में बहुत गर्मी है" can be used to adjust a compatible smart AC. Similarly, saying "Alexa, clean the floor" can start a supported robot vacuum.

Alexa+ can also handle several actions together. Users can create routines entirely through conversation. For example, they can ask Alexa+ to turn the lights white and reduce their brightness, close the curtains and start Fire TV whenever they say "movie time".

Compatible smart home products from brands such as Atomberg, Qubo, Dreame and Wipro are supported.

From Recipes To Movies And Music

Alexa+ isn't limited to smart home controls. It can also help with everyday activities such as deciding what to cook.

Through Sanjeev Kapoor Recipes, users can ask for meal ideas and then follow the recipe step by step. They can also make changes while cooking rather than starting the search again.

Entertainment searches can work in a similar way. Instead of asking for a specific song, film or podcast, users can describe what they are looking for based on their mood, activity or other details.

Alexa+ works with Amazon Music, Spotify, Apple Music, JioSaavn, Prime Video and Netflix, although some services require separate subscriptions.

Amazon is also preparing support for several more services in India. These include EazyDiner, Swiggy, District by Zomato, MakeMyTrip, Home Triangle and TripAdvisor. They will cover tasks ranging from restaurant and event bookings to food delivery, travel and home services.

Alexa+ Can Remember Family Preferences

Amazon is also giving Alexa+ a better understanding of individual users within a household.

With Voice ID and Visual ID, the assistant can recognise family members and use that information to personalise its responses. So, if someone in the family is vegetarian or has a particular food restriction, Alexa+ can consider that when suggesting recipes.

It can similarly learn what people in the household like to watch or listen to. Household routines can also be used for reminders and suggestions, such as turning on lights around sunset, reminding someone to check the gas before going to bed or flagging a schedule clash.

Shopping Can Be Done Through Conversation

Alexa+ also gets a broader role in Amazon shopping.

Users can ask it to create shopping lists while taking family preferences into account, track Amazon.in deliveries and keep an eye on wishlist products for price drops. It can also compare product features, summarise verified reviews and suggest related products.

Amazon Now is set to bring another feature to Alexa+ soon. Once available, customers will be able to order groceries and everyday essentials using voice commands. They can search for a product, choose it, add it to the cart and place the order without going through the usual shopping process.

The order will then be handled through Amazon Now, which offers delivery within minutes.

Alexa+ Is Designed For Indian Conversations

Amazon has spent considerable effort adapting Alexa+ to the way people speak in India. That includes words and expressions that can be difficult to translate directly into English.

The assistant understands terms such as "dhai baje", "ek paav", "bhanja", "bhateeji", "jethani" and "devar". It is also designed to pick up conversational phrases such as "theek hai" and "arrey", as well as references involving Bollywood, cricket and Indian festivals.

Much of this work was done by Amazon teams in India. Scientists, linguists and engineers working across Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune and Chennai contributed to areas such as speech recognition for Indian homes, Hinglish and culturally specific requests.

More Than One AI Model Powers Alexa+

Alexa+ runs on Amazon Bedrock and uses an architecture that connects more than 70 large language models, including Amazon's own models and models from Anthropic.

The system can choose a model depending on what the user is asking it to do. A request to control a smart device, for instance, requires a different set of capabilities from planning a holiday.

Privacy Controls Remain In Place

Amazon says Alexa+'s new AI capabilities come with the existing privacy controls for Alexa devices.

Through the Alexa Privacy dashboard, users can review their interactions, listen to what Alexa heard, check shared attachments and choose how long voice recordings are retained.

Echo and other Alexa-enabled devices also have microphone and camera controls, along with a visual indicator to show when Alexa is listening.

Alexa+ Price And Availability In India

Alexa+ is free during Early Access for customers using eligible Echo devices, Fire TV devices and the Alexa app. Users can check whether their existing device is supported on Amazon's Alexa+ page.

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The service will continue to be free for Prime members after Early Access ends. For Prime Lite, Prime Shopping Edition and non-Prime customers, access will not renew automatically. They can continue usacing Alexa+ through a Prime plan or take a standalone subscription priced at INR 2,000 per month.

Amazon has also introduced the Echo Show 8, Echo Show 11, Echo Dot Max and Echo Studio for Alexa+. These devices come with additional processing power, memory and edge-based computing aimed at handling the assistant's newer capabilities


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