We’re definitely beta testing this technology”: is Alexa+ really bad, or are our expectations for free services too high?

• Prime members are being automatically upgraded to Alexa+
• Users remain mixed on the service
• You can opt out and return to regular old Alexa

When Amazon announced Alexa+, the future looked bright for the AI-bolstered smart assistant, poised to offer agentic assistance that could rival even the likes of Google Gemini and ChatGPT.

However, while the service boasts a next-gen upgrade that could revolutionize home assistants as we know them, there’s a long road ahead before many of the promised features are fully functional (or, indeed, available to users at all).

There’s a glaringly obvious reason for this; Alexa+ is still in Early Access, meaning all current users are effectively part of one great big beta test, as noted by Reddit users in r/AmazonEcho. However, that beta test seems to have expanded to a bunch of Prime customers via an automatic enrollment in the service, as reported by The Verge, and it’s riled up the user base once again.

That being said, if your main reasons for opting out are pre-emptive, it’s worth giving the service a try yourself, because there are a fair few very happy customers who might convince you otherwise.

It could be worse…

Am I the only person on the planet that actually likes Alexa+? from r/amazonecho

We’ve covered some of those recent concerns already, as well as our own hands-on Alexa+ early access testing, but it’s not all doom and gloom in Alexa+ land.

In light of complaints about reduced functionality and excessive ads, some are calling out specific features that have actually improved when using the service.

“I love the change! I can finally get answers to questions,” says one user, referencing Alexa’s improved conversational abilities and better search functions. “It makes my daily routines smoother, and I enjoy how it integrates with my smart home devices,” one commenter adds.

Indeed, smart home control seems to be a running theme in those enjoying the service, which offers improved voice control from chained requests to natural language automation setup.

Elsewhere, people are finding new ways to use Alexa+ after the upgrade: “I’m having a blast with my Alexa+ in my art studio/ shop. She is my shop assistant and I think she is awesome.” said one Reddit user in another thread.

Plus, its contextual awareness seems to prove useful in practice for some users: “The other day I was making German pancakes and had a recipe up and I could just ask things like ‘How much flour? How many eggs? What ingredients are left?’ and it kept up and walked me through the whole recipe.”

… but it could be better!

In the wake of some such complaints, other Reddit users are blaming the negativity bias of Reddit’s userbase for widespread complaints about the service.

Others agreed, acknowledging the room for improvement but with a little more patience than some netizens. “These days, no software is ever perfect at release, and maybe never afterwards either. The advantage of Alexa+ is that it’s new, so it has a team of devs working on bugfixes and improvements, and that can only be a good thing,” said one user.

“Even people with poor experiences of it now should find, if they report issues, that the system gets better – because that’s kind of inevitable right now.”

Along a similar vein, launching Alexa+ on the web and bringing the AI assistant to a wide range of devices, from electric vehicles to home appliances.

Opt-out with ease

Still, there are plenty of unhappy customers deciding they don’t want the free upgrade, from simple reasons like Alexa+’s grating “Valley Girl” cadence to decreased functionality and an abundance of ads.

That’s doubly true given the Alexa+ free upgrade for Prime users currently rolling out is automatic, meaning you can’t refuse and opt out until the service is already active; thankfully, it’s a very easy process to remove yourself from the hive mind.

Simply say ‘Alexa, exit Alexa+’ to remove the service from your Echo devices, and if you change your mind later you can rejoin by saying ‘Alexa, enter Alexa+’. It’s that easy!

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Josephine Watson is TechRadar’s Managing Editor – Lifestyle. Josephine is an award-winning journalist (PPA 30 under 30 2024), having previously written on a variety of topics, from pop culture to gaming and even the energy industry, joining TechRadar to support general site management. She is a smart home nerd, champion of TechRadar’s sustainability efforts as well and an advocate for internet safety and education. She has used her position to fight for progressive approaches towards diversity and inclusion, mental health, and neurodiversity in corporate settings. Generally, you’ll find her fiddling with her smart home setup, watching Disney movies, playing on her Switch, or rewatching the extended edition of Lord of the Rings… again.