Amazon just released an upgraded version of its famed Alexa virtual assistant that aims to make Canadians’ lives even easier, and it’s free for Prime members. 

Introducing Alexa+, a revamped version of the assistance service that’s powered by generative AI and is smarter, more conversational and more capable than its predecessor, Amazon proudly says. 

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The revitalized assistance comes out 11 years after the original Alexa and promises an easy and personalized experience for the millions of Canadians who use the service every month. 

From booking restaurant reservations to organizing your day, Alexa+ has a heightened level of intelligence and responsiveness. Building Alexa+ with Canadian lingo and common expressions in mind, Amazon emphasizes that the new Alexa is more conversational and relatable, providing a seamless experience as if you’re speaking with a friend. 

“Alexa+ is more than an app or a chatbot. It’s really this ambient AI assistant. So, it’s doing a lot more in your house in terms of being proactive and personalized and useful in your house,” Alexa Canada Country Manager Allison Siperco said to Now Toronto. 

Alexa+ is even well-versed in Canadian culture. For example, it knows about Canadian sports teams, homegrown music and national topics, allowing users to ask a variety of local-based questions to which Alexa+ will provide an informed and thoughtful response. 

Another important feature to note is that users don’t have to constantly start their sentences with “Hey Alexa.” Once they initiate a conversation with Alexa, they can continue speaking or asking questions without mentioning the name again. 

Living up to its personal assistant title, Alexa seamlessly connects with services and devices Canadians use on a daily basis in their home. Alexa+ can manage your smart home, book restaurant reservations through OpenTable, plan trip itineraries with Fodors and even tell you current events with CBC News. Amazon adds that it’s actively looking to expand its partnerships with a variety of services, including Yelp, Uber Eats, Suno and TripAdvisor. 

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And like a great assistant, Alexa+ will be personalized to you and other members of your household. Alexa+ will remember your favourite music, books, foods, preferences and routines. She will even adapt her tone and emotions in conversations to truly make it feel like you’re speaking to a friend. 

Alexa+ will also elevate users’ music playing experience. With users enjoying 50 million hours of music monthly through their devices, Amazon says Alexa+ continues to provide an ideal listening experience for users. 

For example, if you’re listening to a new album in your kitchen while cooking and decide to eat dinner in the living room you can simply say, “Alexa, move the music here,” and it will continue to play on the nearest speaker. 

Besides knowing all about you, Alexa+ will keep you organized and be the best little helper. She will enhance your shopping experience to ensure you don’t forget items, and find your preferred items at the best price. She can even alert you about price drops and recommend new products based on your interests. 

For customers always on the go, Alexa+ will write your emails or texts giving you the ability to multitask and still check off everything on your to-do list. 

As convenient as Alexa+ is, some might have privacy concerns in mind to which Amazon acknowledges.

“Customer trust is paramount, it’s really important to everything that we do. We have a long track record of protecting customers’ security and privacy. So, we want to give the control to customers and we want to be really transparent about the devices. So, we have an Alexa privacy hub in the app and that allows customers to review and manage all their privacy settings,” Siperco said, 

Customers have the ability to review their interactions with Alexa+, including the attachments they share, voice recordings, and more, while also using the Alexa Privacy dashboard to control their privacy settings. 

There’s also microphone and camera controls that can be adjusted in the app, and a visual indicator to let customers know when Alexa+ is listening. 

While Alexa+ can be used on compatible Echo smart speakers and Fire TVs and tablets, Amazon also recently released the new Echo Show 8 and 11, Echo Dot Max and Echo Studio with more processing power and memory. 

As of Nov. 20, Alexa+ has been rolling out in Canada and Amazon is inviting customers to try the enhanced virtual assistant every week as part of an Early Access Program, with the intention of expanding in waves over the coming months. Early access will be given to customers who buy a new Echo Smart Display or Smart Speaker in Canada. Customers can also request early access without buying a new device by visiting amazon.com/newalexa. 

Alexa+ is free for Prime members or available to non-Prime members for $27.99/month.