Back in February Amazon opened up its Alexa+ AI chatbot to everyone in the US, with Prime subscribers getting unlimited access to it for free. Today, the company is expanding the reach of the service, for free, to those who have a compatible Fire TV device.
To clarify right from the start, if you have one of the following devices, you can use Alexa+ for free even without a Prime subscription: all current-generation Amazon Fire TV Sticks, the Fire TV Cube, Amazon Ember Smart TVs, and other smart TVs “by trusted brands with Alexa+ built-in” (including Hisense and Panasonic).
These devices will be automatically upgraded to the Alexa+ experience, with no action required, no download, and no subscription to activate. If you have a Prime membership, then you will also get Alexa+ on compatible Echo devices and additional Alexa+ features on your Fire TV device(s), including Alexa Routines, access to specific Ring camera moments, and advanced Home Modes to automate your household’s smart devices.
Alexa+ is Amazon’s response to ChatGPT and Claude and Gemini, but it’s obviously very much focused on Amazon’s own ecosystem instead of trying to compete at being a general-purpose AI chatbot. Like with any other AI chatbot, however, you can talk to it in natural language and ask it about anything.
It understands conversational context and can answer follow-up questions. It can help you find content to watch on your Fire TV device, move what you’re watching on Prime Video from one device to another, and will give you on-screen answers for your questions related to what you’re watching. And of course it can also control smart home devices.