Amazon has started automatically upgrading Prime members to Alexa+, its new AI-powered assistant, and the move isn’t going down particularly well with everyone.
First announced early last year, Alexa+ is Amazon’s answer to ChatGPT and Google Gemini, promising more conversational responses and smarter interactions powered by large language models.
The rollout has been slow and fairly quiet, but that’s now changing. Prime members are beginning to receive notifications that Alexa+ is being enabled on their devices automatically, with no opt-in required.
According to messages shared on Reddit, the upgrade “takes just a few minutes and won’t require any action from you.” That’s precisely the issue for some users. There’s currently no way to block the upgrade entirely — it happens by default.
While Amazon does allow users to revert back by saying “Alexa, exit Alexa+” to a compatible speaker or display, many aren’t thrilled about being switched over in the first place.
From Amazon’s perspective, this is simply delivering on an earlier promise. Alexa+ was positioned as a free Prime perk, with a standalone price of $19.99 per month for non-Prime users, though international pricing has not yet been confirmed. But forced upgrades, even free ones, rarely land smoothly.
Complaints are already piling up. Some users say Alexa+ feels slower than the standard assistant, while others report missing features — including the inability to read Kindle books aloud, something the regular Kindle experience handles just fine.
There are also grumbles about increased ads, changes to Alexa’s voice, and the overall “personality” of the new assistant.
One Reddit user summed up the frustration bluntly: “It’s all the non-consent that’s bothering me right now.” Another said they didn’t want “an assistant with attitude.” Several threads feature users reverting back to the old Alexa after brief trials, citing reliability issues and broken routines.
Alexa+ is meant to be smarter and more flexible, capable of handling more natural language and complex requests. But for some Prime members, the trade-off doesn’t yet feel worth it, especially when the upgrade arrives uninvited.
For now, Amazon seems committed to pushing Alexa+ as the default experience for Prime users. Whether it wins people over with improvements or continues to frustrate those who just wanted their old Alexa to keep working remains to be seen.
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