Amazon brings Alexa+ to the UK

Amazon is expanding its AI-powered conversational assistant Alexa+ to the UK, making it the first country outside North America to receive the service. UK users who purchase a new Amazon Echo can join a free early access program. After the program ends, Prime subscribers will get Alexa+ for free, while non-Prime users will pay £19.99/month. The assistant has been localized for UK customers using reinforcement learning, accent-neutral speech representations, and regional embeddings developed at Amazon's Cambridge Tech Hub. Alexa+ integrates with services like OpenTable, JustEat, and UK news outlets. Amazon originally launched Alexa+ in February 2025, with a slow US rollout before making it available to all US users in February 2026.