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Amazon is expanding its AI-powered digital assistant Alexa+ with new capabilities. The company announced Thursday that it is adding four new integrations to the service that the assistant can work with Enter, Expedia.com, SquareAnd Yelp from 2026.
These additions will allow customers to book hotels, get quotes for home services and schedule salon appointments, among other things. With Expedia, customers can compare, book and manage hotel reservations, or tell Alexa their preferences for personalized recommendations. (e.g. « Can you find pet-friendly hotels in Chicago this weekend? »)
The new services join Alexa+’s existing integrations with Fodor, OpenTable, Suno, Ticketmaster, Thumbtack and Uber.
Similar to how ChatGPT is now integrate apps into its chatbotAmazon wants to make it easier for consumers to use various online services through its digital assistant. For example, you can ask Alex to call an Uber for you or reserve a table for dinner with OpenTable.
You can also talk to the AI assistant in natural language, having conversations back and forth and refining your request as you go.
Of course, whether users will accept this idea remains to be seen.
However, Amazon did provide a small glimpse into how Alexa+ early adopters have been using the integrations, noting that home and personal service providers like Thumbtack and Vargaro have seen “strong” engagement so far.
Using AI assistants as app platforms is a model being tested across the industry as another way to bring AI more broadly to consumers. But this requires users to adapt to a new way of working, as many are used to using online services via the Internet or mobile apps. To be successful in getting consumers to change their behavior, using AI apps will have to be seen as just as simple, if not easier, than the existing model.
For that to work, AI providers would have to at least match the breadth of online services offered by a traditional app store, which is already a more curated selection than what’s available over the Internet. Or providers will have to become very good at suggesting apps that they can use at the right time, without seeming too pushy, as users can. perceive unwanted cues as advertisements.
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