Amazon has launched its next-generation digital assistant Alexa+ in Canada. The company unveiled the new Assistant in February and since then it has been making its way to more and more people. Canada is the first region outside the US to get access to Amazon’s advanced Alexa. Like the version launched in the US, users can communicate with Alexa+ in natural language. For example, they can say “I’m cold”, and the Assistant will turn up the heat in their home. If they say, “It’s dark,” Alexa+ can turn on the lights for them.
In Amazon’s announcement, Alison Siperko, Alexa manager for Canada, said the assistant understands Canadian culture and regional expressions. It can clearly understand Canadian topics like the country’s hockey teams and musicians. Additionally, the assistant connects to services used by Canadians. It can make restaurant reservations for them through OpenTable, connect them to CBC News and help them find and buy items from its e-commerce platform. Siparco said the assistant will also support Yelp, Uber Eats, Suno and TripAdvisor in the country “soon.”
Alexa+ is able to customize its tone for everyone in the home, suggesting different routines depending on the user. For example, it might suggest meditation for someone who’s had a long day at the office. And it can remember whether someone has dietary restrictions when recommending a restaurant. Alexa+ can help users shop by finding items with the best value, creating grocery lists for them that take dietary restrictions into account, as well as comparing features of products and summarizing reviews on Amazon Canada.
Amazon’s upgraded assistant is free during its early access phase, though those interested in trying it out now will need to purchase a new Echo Show 8, Echo Show 11, Echo Dot Max, or Echo Studio. After Early Access, it will be free for Prime customers, while everyone else will have to pay $28 CAD per month for it.