Amazon brings Alexa+ to the UK

Amazon has launched its AI-powered conversational assistant, Alexa+, in the U.K., marking the first expansion of the service outside North America. The company is currently running an early access program allowing invited U.K. users to try Alexa+ for free, with plans to enable access for “hundreds of thousands” of customers in the coming weeks. After this period, Prime subscribers will continue to have free access, while non-Prime users will be charged £19.99 per month. Alexa+ is compatible with Amazon’s Echo devices, Fire TV, and the Alexa app, with future plans to support browsers as well. Amazon has tailored Alexa+ specifically for the U.K. market, employing local engineers, linguists, and speech scientists to ensure the assistant understands British accents, phrases, and context through techniques like reinforcement learning and regional embeddings. Alexa+ integrates with local services such as OpenTable, JustEat, and Treatwell, and provides news from U.K. outlets including The Independent and The Guardian.