(Credit: Amazon)
Amazon is now automatically upgrading Prime members to Alexa+.
Amazon's upgraded voice assistant was unveiled last year, promising more natural language interactions and the ability to complete tasks on behalf of users. Early Access started rolling out slowly in mid-2025, but it now appears the company is switching users from the old Alexa to the new one without warning.
According to screenshots shared on Reddit, first spotted by The Verge, here’s what Amazon says in its notification: “As a Prime member, you get Alexa+ for free, and we will update the devices registered to this account to the new, conversational, and more delightful Alexa experience… The upgrade takes just a few minutes and won't require any action from you."
To go back to the original Alexa, you can say, "Alexa, exit Alexa+." However, some users are annoyed that Alexa+ is being forced on them.
"This change should be an opt-in, but apparently Amazon isn't getting the take up they want so now they will force it on all devices and see who opts out,” writes one user on Reddit. “Despite the fact that I repeatedly told it to not enable Alexa+, I woke up one morning to it being enabled and the voice was different. It’s quite unnerving that it did so without my permission,” writes another.
Redditors are also sharing hacks to avoid the upgrade. One of them claims that changing the language to Canadian English solves the problem. We have reached out to Amazon to check if there’s a legitimate way to retain the old Alexa without going through the upgrade.
Meanwhile, some users are also downgrading because they find Alexa+ annoying. “New Alexa was a salty b***h with a serious attitude problem. I like old Alexa, she may be slow, but far more pleasant,” writes one user on Reddit. “I just made a comment to myself in my kitchen and she responded like she’s my friend and listening to me and my conversations,” wrote another.
Last week, Amazon also turned Alexa+ into a chatbot, giving it a dedicated website and chat interface. Similar to Gemini or ChatGPT, it lets users send text or voice queries and receive responses.