Amazon Starts Nationwide Rollout of Alexa+ One Year After Soft Launch

Amazon is broadening the role of artificial intelligence (AI) across its business, rolling out a new generation of Alexa, exploring deeper access to OpenAI’s models and applying AI tools inside its film and television studios.

Alexa+ Reframes the Assistant as an Always-On AI Interface

Amazon this week began a nationwide rollout of Alexa+, a redesigned version of its voice assistant built on large language models and designed to handle multi-step, conversational tasks. The service is included for Prime members and offered through a paid subscription for others, signaling Amazon’s intent to directly monetize advanced AI features.

Unlike earlier versions focused on discrete voice commands, Alexa+ can manage planning, search, smart-home coordination and task execution with greater contextual awareness. Amazon has positioned the assistant as usable across Echo devices, mobile apps and the web, expanding Alexa beyond the kitchen counter into a broader AI interface layer.

The launch, almost a year after its trial debut, marks Amazon’s most significant update to Alexa since its introduction and reflects pressure to keep pace with rapidly improving assistants tied to smartphones, operating systems and productivity tools.

Talks With OpenAI Highlight Demand for Customized Model Access

At the same time, Amazon has been discussing the possibility of gaining specialized access to OpenAI’s technology, according to The Information. The talks center on obtaining customized or preferential use of OpenAI’s models rather than standard off-the-shelf API access, potentially allowing Amazon to tailor advanced AI systems to its own products and services.

Such arrangements have become increasingly valuable as large technology companies seek differentiation in AI performance, reliability and integration. While Amazon continues to develop its own models and infrastructure through AWS, the discussions underscore how even cloud giants are evaluating partnerships to stay competitive at the frontier of generative AI.

The talks have also surfaced as OpenAI considers a major new funding round, with Amazon among the companies reportedly assessing potential investment opportunities.

Studios Turn to AI to Compress Production Timelines

Reuters reported that Amazon MGM Studios is developing internal AI tools aimed at speeding up television and film production, using automation to assist with editing, continuity checks and production workflows.

The initiative is being run as a small internal team, with early testing underway and broader deployment expected later this year. Executives have emphasized that the tools are designed to support creative teams rather than replace them, focusing on efficiency gains and cost reduction.

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