If you’re like me, you probably haven’t thought much about Alexa+, Amazon’s AI-powered natural language voice assistant. First announced in 2025, this assistant has been free for Prime members since its debut over a year ago, and costs $20 a month for those who wanted to access Alexa+ without having to subscribe to Amazon Prime.
While there’s not much usage data on how many people actually paid (or subscribed to Prime) to use Alexa+ it looks like Amazon is trying to boost adoption of their signature AI assistent as they have just announced that Alexa+ is now free for all Fire TV device owners that are compatible with the service. This includes Amazon Fire TV Sticks, Fire TV Cube, and Fire TVs with Alexa+ built in. And the good news is that if you own one of these devices, you probably already have the upgrade.
What is Alexa+?
Think of it like Siri’s cousin
Though the standard version of Alexa continues to be available for free to anyone who has an Amazon product, Alexa+ improves on its predecessor by incorporating natural language commands. So instead of needing to memorize what words to say to get Alexa to play music or start a movie, users can just say something natural like “Show me what movies are trending on Netflix” or “Play songs from my playlist that I haven’t heard this week.” Alexa+ can also help users dive deeper into the things they enjoy, letting users ask questions about specific musicians they listen to on Spotify or other movies featuring an actor that they found on Netflix, for instance.
Alexa+ can also be used to turn compatible Fire TV devices into a smart home hub that incorporates natural language commands to control smart home devices that are compatible with Alexa+. So with the new integration with Fire TV devices, for instance, users can check doorbell cameras on their TV, dim the lights, lock the doors, or even set a reminder, all from the comfort of their couch.
How to get Alexa+ on supported devices
The upgrade will be applied automatically
The good news is that users who have an eligible Fire TV device will automatically have their account upgraded to include Alexa+. This change is already rolling out to devices in the US today, so the next time you turn on your TV, you’ll likely see information about the change. More information about Alexa+, including a list of compatible devices and how to check your Alexa+ status is available on Amazon’s official Alexa+ hub.
