Amazon is betting that scale and familiarity will decide the next phase of the AI assistant race. At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the company revealed that 97 percent of all devices it has ever shipped are capable of supporting Alexa+, its upgraded generative AI assistant. That single statistic frames Amazon’s confidence that it already owns the most important battlefield in consumer AI, which is the home. With more than 600 million devices sold worldwide, the company believes its installed base gives Alexa+ a structural advantage that few competitors can match.
According to Amazon, the vast majority of those hundreds of millions of devices can run Alexa+ with no additional hardware changes. That means smart speakers, displays, and other Alexa-powered products already sitting in living rooms and kitchens can be upgraded through software. For consumers, this removes friction. For Amazon, it creates a rare opportunity to deploy advanced AI at scale without asking users to buy something new.
Daniel Rausch, the company’s vice president of Alexa and Echo, said at CES that internal data shows nearly all previously shipped devices can support the new assistant. Rausch explained that Alexa+ is designed to be Amazon’s long-term answer to the generative AI boom, not a side experiment. By upgrading an assistant customers already use, Amazon hopes to normalize AI as part of everyday life rather than a separate destination.
Alexa+ was first announced early last year as Amazon’s entry into the modern AI assistant era. The system adds more expressive and natural-sounding voices, broader access to world knowledge, and agent-style capabilities that can complete tasks on behalf of users. These include actions such as ordering food, booking rides, or managing everyday errands through simple voice requests. The company sees these capabilities as essential for keeping Alexa relevant as conversational AI expectations rise.
Since launch, Amazon has taken a measured approach to rollout. By June of last year, more than one million Alexa users had gained access. Today, the company says tens of millions of customers can opt in to upgrade. Amazon has not committed to a firm date for full public availability, but the focus is clear. The company is prioritizing access for Prime members, using its massive subscription base as a natural on-ramp for adoption.
Availability alone, however, is not the real challenge. The more important question is whether users will actually rely on Alexa+ in daily life. Rausch believes Amazon’s existing footprint answers that concern. Alexa is already ambiently present in millions of homes, always ready through voice, which remains the most natural interface for many users. That familiarity, he argues, lowers the barrier to experimenting with new AI features.
Rausch also acknowledged that the AI market will not be dominated by a single assistant. Instead, he expects a mix of specialist tools and a small group of foundational assistants that handle broad, everyday needs. In his view, Alexa is positioned to be one of those foundational platforms. While some AI tools may excel in narrow fields like law or medicine, Alexa aims to be the assistant people turn to first.
This strategy unfolds against a rapidly shifting competitive landscape. Apple has announced plans to integrate Google’s Gemini models into Siri, signaling a more aggressive AI push. At the same time, standalone chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude are expanding across research, healthcare, coding, and enterprise use cases. Amazon’s response is not to chase every niche, but to deepen Alexa’s role where it already lives.
Just ahead of CES, Amazon unveiled several changes that reinforce this approach. The company introduced a web-based way to access Alexa, extending the assistant beyond physical devices. It also redesigned the Alexa mobile app, placing a chatbot-style interface at the center of the experience. These updates reflect a clear shift toward conversational interaction as the primary way users engage with the assistant.
At CES itself, Amazon highlighted how Alexa fits into a broader ecosystem. Partners including Samsung, BMW, and Oura demonstrated integrations that bring Alexa into televisions, cars, and wearable devices. These partnerships show Amazon’s intent to make Alexa a consistent presence across environments, not just a kitchen speaker.
Amazon also used the event to spotlight its recent acquisition of Bee, an AI-powered wearable designed to record conversations and generate insights. Bee allows users to interact through voice or text, capturing information from meetings, classes, or daily life. The product signals Amazon’s interest in personal AI that moves with the user, rather than staying anchored in the home.
Rausch said that Alexa and Bee will become more integrated over time, but he emphasized that Bee also stands on its own as a distinct product. He described it as an important and lovable experience, suggesting Amazon sees value in maintaining Bee as a separate brand while gradually connecting it to the Alexa ecosystem.
Taken together, Amazon’s announcements point to a strategy built on continuity rather than disruption. Instead of forcing users to learn a new AI platform from scratch, the company is evolving a familiar assistant into something more powerful. By leveraging hardware already in homes, a well-known brand, and a growing set of AI capabilities, Amazon is betting that convenience and trust will outweigh novelty.
Whether that bet pays off will depend on how well Alexa+ delivers on its promises. Users will expect accuracy, speed, and clear value from AI-driven tasks. If Alexa+ can quietly make everyday life easier without demanding attention, Amazon’s claim that 97 percent of its devices are ready may become one of the most important statistics in consumer AI.
