Amazon Music App Now Has Alexa+

Amazon just added something new to its music app that changes how you can search for and discover songs. The company announced that Alexa+ is now available inside the Amazon Music app for both iPhone and Android users. This isn’t just a small update. It’s a completely different way of interacting with music using artificial intelligence.

Alexa+ is Amazon’s upgraded version of the regular Alexa assistant you might already know from Echo speakers. But this new version is much smarter and can actually have conversations with you instead of just following basic commands. Think of it like talking to a friend who knows everything about music rather than shouting commands at a robot.

To use it, you just tap a button with an “a” on it in the bottom right corner of the Amazon Music app. Then you can start talking to it using your phone’s microphone. The feature is currently only available to people who signed up for something called Alexa+ Early Access, which is basically Amazon’s way of testing new features with a smaller group before releasing them to everyone.

The way Alexa+ works is pretty interesting. You can ask it really specific questions that would have been impossible with the old Alexa. For example, you can say something like “I’m trying to find a song that was in a movie about time travel, and I only remember one line from the lyrics.” The AI will actually try to figure out what song you’re talking about based on those vague details. You can also ask about the meaning behind song lyrics, find out what influenced an artist’s work, or learn about a band’s history.

One of the coolest features is how it can make playlists for you based on very specific requests. You could tell it to create a playlist that sounds like you’re sitting in a café in Paris, but only include French songs. Or you could ask for music to help your dog relax, but make it have R&B vibes. These aren’t the kind of things you could easily search for before. The old way of finding music required you to know exactly what artist or song you wanted. This new way lets you describe a mood or situation, and the AI figures out what music fits.

Amazon says the feature is already proving popular with the people who are testing it. According to their data, users who engage with Alexa+ are exploring music three times more than people using the original version of Alexa. Even more impressive, people who asked Alexa+ for music recommendations ended up listening to nearly 70 percent more music overall. That’s a huge increase and suggests that having a smarter assistant actually makes people enjoy the app more and use it longer.

The timing of this release is probably not a coincidence. Just a few weeks ago, Spotify announced that it was integrating ChatGPT into its platform to help users find music recommendations. That partnership with OpenAI was a big deal because it showed where music streaming is heading. Amazon clearly doesn’t want to fall behind, so they’re pushing their own AI technology into Amazon Music as a direct response.

For Amazon, this is about more than just having a cool new feature. The company has reportedly been losing billions of dollars a year on Alexa because the original strategy wasn’t working. They thought people would use Alexa to buy more stuff on Amazon, but that didn’t really happen. Now Amazon is trying a different approach by making Alexa+ something people will actually pay for directly. Once the early access period ends, Alexa+ will be free for Amazon Prime members. But if you’re not a Prime member, you’ll have to pay about twenty dollars a month just to use it. That’s actually more expensive than a Prime membership by itself.

Amazon’s CEO Andy Jassy mentioned during an earnings call in August that the company is also planning to put ads directly into Alexa conversations. So the AI that helps you discover music could eventually start suggesting sponsored products or playlists. This creates two ways for Amazon to make money from Alexa+, through subscriptions and through advertising. That’s part of a bigger plan to finally make the Alexa division profitable after years of losses.

The conversational nature of Alexa+ is what really sets it apart. You can ask follow up questions and have a back and forth dialogue just like you would with a real person. If the AI suggests a playlist, you can ask it to add specific songs or change the mood slightly. You can save playlists it creates, rename them, and come back to them later. Everything feels more natural than the robotic commands of the past.

Alexa+ also works as a music expert that knows pretty much everything about the industry. You can ask about chart positions, upcoming album releases, festival line-ups, or the connections between different artists. For example, you could ask “I’m going to Camp Flog Gnaw, who are the artists performing for 2025? Can you tell me more about those artists?” The AI will give you the information and then elaborate on each performer’s background and style.

This feature is now available across all Amazon Music subscription tiers. Whether you have the free version that comes with Prime, the Amazon Music Unlimited plan, or any other level, you can use Alexa+ as long as you’re part of the early access program. Amazon says they’ll be expanding availability to all customers eventually, but they haven’t given an exact date for when that will happen.

Some people are excited about this development because it makes music discovery feel more personal and intuitive. Instead of scrolling through endless playlists or typing in search terms hoping to find something good, you can just describe what you want and let the AI do the work. It’s especially useful when you know the kind of vibe you’re looking for but can’t quite put your finger on specific songs or artists.

Other people are more cautious. Early reviews of Alexa+ on Echo speakers have been mixed. Some users say it’s slower than the original Alexa and sometimes gets basic facts wrong, like the day of the week. There are also concerns about privacy whenever AI is involved in analysing what you say and what you listen to. Amazon claims they’re handling data responsibly, but anytime a company is using AI to learn about your preferences, there’s always some level of uncertainty about how that information gets used.

The integration of Alexa+ into Amazon Music is part of a larger trend in the tech industry. Every company is racing to add generative AI to their products. Apple is working on a smarter version of Siri that’s expected to launch sometime in 2026. Google has been adding AI features to its search and other services. Microsoft is putting AI everywhere through its partnership with OpenAI. Amazon doesn’t want to be left behind in this race, so they’re pushing Alexa+ into as many products as possible.

Panos Panay, who leads Amazon’s devices and services division, described Alexa+ as “that trusted assistant that can help you conduct your life and your home.” The vision is that Alexa+ becomes something you rely on for everything from managing your smart home to making dinner reservations to discovering new artists. The Amazon Music integration is just one piece of that bigger picture.

For musicians and artists, this shift toward AI-powered discovery could change how people find their work. Instead of relying on playlists curated by humans or algorithms that push the most popular songs, artists might get discovered because an AI thinks their music fits a very specific mood or situation that a listener described. That could open up opportunities for smaller or independent artists who create unique sounds but don’t have big marketing budgets.

The feature is being positioned as making music streaming more accessible and personal. Amazon wants people to feel like they have a knowledgeable friend guiding them through millions of songs rather than feeling lost in an overwhelming catalogue. Whether that actually improves the experience or just adds another layer of technology between you and the music is something each person will have to decide for themselves.

What’s clear is that Amazon is betting heavily on AI being the future of how people interact with music. The company has been building Alexa+ into new Ring devices, Kindle e-readers, and its Vega smart TV operating system. The new Echo Studio speaker that just came out is designed specifically to showcase Alexa+. Now the Amazon Music app joins that growing list of places where you can use the upgraded assistant.

The numbers Amazon shared about people listening to more music and exploring more artists suggest that Alexa+ is having the desired effect. If people are genuinely discovering music they wouldn’t have found otherwise and spending more time engaged with the platform, then the feature is working as intended. That increased engagement is valuable to Amazon because it means more opportunities to keep you in their ecosystem and eventually make money through subscriptions or ads.

For now, if you want to try Alexa+ in the Amazon Music app, you’ll need to join the early access program. Amazon hasn’t said exactly when it will become available to everyone, but based on their rollout strategy with other devices, it probably won’t be too long. The company seems eager to get this technology into as many hands as possible before competitors gain too much ground.

The addition of Alexa+ to Amazon Music marks another step in the ongoing transformation of how we find and enjoy music. Whether it becomes the standard way people interact with streaming services or just another feature that some people use occasionally remains to be seen. But one thing is certain, the days of simply typing in an artist’s name and hitting play are evolving into something more conversational and AI-driven. Amazon is making sure they’re part of that evolution, and Alexa+ in the music app is their way of showing they’re serious about competing in the age of artificial intelligence.