Amazon announced Tuesday that Alexa+, its upgraded AI-powered assistant, is coming to the Amazon Music app for iOS and Android devices.
The feature is currently available on all Amazon Music subscription plans, but is only available to users with Alexa+ early access. (To access Alexa+, press the “a” button in the lower right corner and ask your question using the built-in microphone on your phone. )
The introduction of Alexa+ to Amazon Music aims to create a more conversational approach to music discovery. Unlike the previous version of Alexa, which only responded to basic commands, Alexa+ is designed to engage in natural dialogue.
Users can ask specific and obscure questions, such as queries about an artist’s influences or explore deeper meanings behind songs. It can also help recall the title of a song by providing lyrics you remember or even mentioning the movie it appeared in.
Additionally, Alexa+ can create personalized playlists tailored to specific requests, such as “Create a playlist of 2010s hits that keep me up to speed, starting with a track by Nicki Minaj,” the company suggested.
Some other examples provided by the company include: “Can you recommend new music that would make me look cool to my 13-year-old daughter without trying too hard?” and “What is the song that plays during the opening credits of ‘The Sopranos’?”
Alexa+ was first announced in February at the company’s hardware event and is positioned as one of the first consumer-focused agent tools on the market. This assistant can perform actions on behalf of a user, such as booking restaurant reservations and ordering groceries.
While Alexa+ is still in its early stages and not yet widely available to the public, it has already been rolled out to more than a million users.
The company reported that Amazon Music listeners who have tested the feature explore songs three times longer with Alexa+ than with the original assistant, and those looking for recommendations listen to nearly 70% more music.
In light of Spotify’s recent integration with ChatGPT, this could be a strategic move by Amazon to compete with the music streaming giant and showcase its own AI investments. Amazon Music has already integrated several AI features into its app, with the latest additions being AI-generated weekly playlists, AI-assisted search, and “Explore,” which helps users learn more about their favorite artists.
