Alexa Plus is getting an AI update to handle more complicated instructions - The Verge

What the report says

The Verge reports that Amazon is preparing an update for Alexa Plus, its upgraded AI assistant, aimed at making the service more useful across smart home devices and outside services. The update, now in preview, is designed to let Alexa Plus connect with a broader set of products from companies including Bosch, Delta, Ecovacs, iRobot, Yale Home, Whirlpool, Tapo and Eufy, and to direct user requests to the appropriate device automatically.

According to The Verge, Amazon’s example centers on a supported washing machine: a user could describe a laundry need in ordinary language, and Alexa Plus would interpret the request and select a suitable wash setting. The new integrations rely on Amazon’s AI developer toolkit, which the company says is intended to help device makers connect products with Alexa Plus, including functions that previous Alexa integrations did not handle.

The report says Amazon is also adopting the Model Context Protocol, an open-source standard meant to help AI systems communicate with external tools and services. That move could expand Alexa Plus beyond smart home controls, with integrations from companies such as Canva, Headspace, Priceline, Lyft, Cengage, Virgin Atlantic and Weekend expected later this year. Priceline, for example, is expected to let users search for hotels and book travel through Alexa Plus.

The development matters because Amazon is trying to make Alexa Plus more capable after launching the revamped assistant widely in February. The Verge notes that Alexa Plus can already handle multi-step requests and voice-created routines, but its third-party actions remain limited to services such as Ticketmaster, OpenTable, Uber, Thumbtack, Expedia, Yelp, Square and Angi.