Amazon has begun rolling out Alexa+ in the UK, giving users early access to its updated voice assistant from March 19.
The company says the UK is the first country outside North America to receive the service. For now, access is limited.
Customers who buy selected Echo devices will get invitations, while others can sign up and wait. Amazon plans to expand access to hundreds of thousands of users in the coming weeks.
During this early phase, Alexa+ will be free. After that, it will come at a cost of £19.99 a month for non-Prime users. Prime members will not pay for it, although Amazon has not said when the free trial period will end.
Alexa+ works across Echo devices, Fire TV, and the Alexa app. Amazon also plans to bring it to web browsers. The assistant can carry conversations across devices, so users can start a request on one and continue on another without repeating themselves.
In the UK, Amazon says it has adjusted the assistant to better understand local speech and context. It can recognise common British phrases and adapt to how people speak. The company said its Cambridge-based team worked on this using a mix of language and speech tools.
“Local teams, including engineers, linguists, and speech scientists at Amazon’s Tech Hub in Cambridge, UK, have used different techniques, such as reinforcement learning, accent-neutral speech representations, and regional embeddings, to make sure Alexa+ genuinely understands British customers,” the company said.
Alexa+ also connects with services such as OpenTable, JustEat and Treatwell. Users can ask it to book restaurants, order food or arrange appointments. It can also pull in news from outlets including The Independent, The Guardian, Press Association and Future Publishing.
Amazon first introduced Alexa+ in February 2025, but its rollout has taken time. By mid-2025, access was still limited in the United States. It later expanded to all users there and added early access programmes in Canada and Mexico before reaching the UK.
The company has also added features that let users adjust how Alexa responds, including different tone options. One of those, described as “Sassy”, is restricted to adult users, though Amazon says the assistant will not support explicit content.
Amazon says Alexa+ is designed to do more than answer questions. It can complete tasks from start to finish, such as managing bookings or controlling smart home devices. Users can also review and manage their data through privacy settings in the Alexa app.
The focus is now on getting feedback from early users, with global rollout following once testing is complete.
