Seattle: Alexa is learning a few new tricks, and this time it’s inviting developers along for the ride. Amazon has unveiled a suite of new tools for developers to build richer experiences on Alexa+, expanding the AI assistant’s capabilities across smart home devices, third-party services and voice-enabled transactions.
The company said customers are already interacting with Alexa+ two to three times more than before, using it for a broader range of activities including setting routines, managing smart home devices, discovering restaurants, booking services and searching for information.
Amazon said brands that integrate with Alexa+ can now become part of these conversations. For example, users looking for a restaurant can receive recommendations through OpenTable, while someone troubleshooting a washing machine can be directed to a service provider via Thumbtack.
Amazon has introduced an AI-powered smart home developer toolkit that allows device manufacturers to integrate more advanced features with Alexa+, including capabilities that were previously unsupported.
Instead of navigating multiple settings in a companion app, customers can describe what they want in natural language. Alexa+ will then identify the connected device and automatically activate the appropriate feature.
For instance, a user can ask Alexa to wash a child’s muddy football jersey while following the care instructions on the label, and the assistant can select the most suitable wash cycle from dozens of available options.
Alexa+ can also learn customer preferences over time and proactively recommend automations, such as starting a coffee machine when a morning alarm goes off.
The first wave of manufacturers adopting the toolkit includes Bosch, Delta, Ecovacs, Eufy, Govee, iRobot, Moen Flo, PetSafe, Whirlpool, Yale Home, SONOFF, Twinkly, Pila Energy and TP-Link’s Tapo brand.
Amazon is also adopting the Model Context Protocol (MCP), enabling service providers to connect their existing AI tools to Alexa+ more easily.
Using a new platform called Alexa+ for Builders, developers can connect their MCP servers, allowing Alexa+ to inspect available tools, recommend integration pathways and generate simulator-ready packages that accelerate development.
Companies including Canva, Priceline, Cengage, Crystal Dynamics, Headspace, Viator, Virgin Atlantic, Lyft, Weekend, Brightline and FlixBus are among the first to begin building MCP-powered Alexa+ experiences later this year.
Amazon is also expanding Alexa+’s ability to complete transactions through Amazon Wallet, allowing users to pay for services using the payment method already stored in their Amazon account.
The company said engagement with transactional services integrated into Alexa+ has increased six-fold, with customers increasingly using voice interactions to book restaurant reservations, buy event tickets and arrange home services.
Amazon Wallet will be available to developers integrating through both the MCP toolkit and the company’s category-specific software development kits, giving brands access to Amazon’s payments infrastructure without building their own checkout systems.
Early partners planning to support Amazon Wallet include Atom Tickets, Cengage, Fandango, Priceline and Taskrabbit.
Amazon said the new developer tools are currently available in preview as it looks to make Alexa+ a more personalised AI assistant that connects seamlessly across devices, services and everyday tasks.
