Amazon’s Alexa+ Assistant Launches in Early Access in Australia

The global rollout of Alexa+ is continuing this summer, and Australia is the latest market where Amazon’s next-gen assistant is launching in early access. This is the first country in the Asia-Pacific region where Alexa+ becomes available, and Amazon said that it’s planning to bring the assistant to 10 additional markets later this year.

To optimize Alexa+ for each new market where it’s launching, Amazon is working with local teams of engineers, linguists, and speech scientists. The result is an assistant that should take into account local accents, idioms, and other subtle cultural differences.

“Alexa+ knows that the State of Origin turns mates into rivals—and if your team loses, she’ll console you when you’re devo. She understands “not bad” is good, “not good” is bad, and “how ya going?” doesn’t mean you’re on the move,” Amazon explained.

Amazon also partnered with local news outlets such as ABC, Sky News/News24, as well as with leading global publications like Reuters and the Associated Press to keep Alexa+ up to date with current events. The assistant also integrates with OpenTable for restaurant reservations, and Tripadvisor will soon be able to help with trip planning.

Australian users can access Alexa+ for free during the early access period by either purchasing a new eligible Echo device or by signing up on this page to receive an invite. After the early access period ends, Alexa+ will be included as an Amazon Prime perk, but it will also be available via a standalone $29.99/month subscription.

Alexa+ first became generally available in the US in February, where it’s also accessible via a new web app on Alexa.com. The early access period also recently ended in Canada, where Alexa+ is now available in both French and English and priced at $27.99 CAD per month for non-Prime members.