Price
Amazon’s Alexa+ has a simpler pricing structure than Google’s Gemini. Alexa+ costs $19.99 per month, but is included free of charge for all Amazon Prime members. Those memberships cost less at $14.99 per month or $139 per year, so it doesn’t make sense to subscribe to Alexa+ alone. You might as well sign up to get free two-day shipping and Prime Video along with Alexa+ access.
The basic, conversational capabilities of Google Gemini are currently rolling out to compatible smart speakers and smart displays for free. For $10 per month, you gain access to the Google Home Premium (formerly Nest Aware) Standard plan, which includes a mode for ongoing, "hotword-free conversation" called Gemini Live, as well as the ability to create automated routines using your voice.
The Standard plan includes 30 days of storage for clips from your compatible Nest security cameras as well. Google Home Premium Standard is also included as part of the broader Google One AI Pro plan, which costs $19.99 per month. This plan offers the desktop version of Gemini, featuring higher usage limits and additional tools.
The upgraded Google Home Premium Advanced plan ($20 per month) primarily focuses on additional features for security cameras, introducing contextual awareness of recorded clips and offering even more storage. Google Home Premium Advanced is included in the Google One AI Ultra plan for $249.99 per month, if you’re interested in AI video generation and extensive storage.
On the one hand, Google offers a free tier for its smart home AI; on the other, Prime is the most ubiquitous of the competing subscription services, so Amazon fans are unlikely to notice any additional cost for Alexa+.
Winner: Alexa+
Compatibility
Google deserves credit for making Gemini available on all of its older devices, even the original Google Home smart speaker from 2016. The rollout of Gemini on its smart home devices is ongoing and will include the company's newest hardware as well. You can sign up to try it out for yourself by updating your Google Home app and then joining the Early Access program in the Home Settings section of your profile.
Alexa+ isn’t available on a handful of the company’s earliest smart home devices, including the first-generation Echo, Echo Dot, Echo Plus, Echo Show, Echo Spot, Echo Tap, and the second-generation Echo Show. You’ll need to sign up for an invite to test Alexa+ during its ongoing early access period, and you’ll need either the Echo Show 8, 10, 15, or 21 to get started.
Alexa+ will also be available out of the box on the company’s newest upcoming Echo devices, and it will roll back to other older devices as the Early Access continues.
Winner: Gemini
Conversational Features
This category is likely to be the most important differentiator between the two AI assistants and the one most likely to change rapidly over time as the companies develop and update their software. One of the stated goals of both AI assistants is to be conversational, with voices tuned to sound natural, and to facilitate back-and-forth interactions in which the assistants remember and build on previously stated information.
Both are already reasonably proficient in this area. Alexa+ got a head start, as it began rolling out to select smart displays in February, whereas Gemini just started its smart home launch this month. That said, outside of the smart home, Gemini started as an AI chatbot roughly a year before the launch of Alexa+.
We’ve previously discussed accuracy issues affecting both Alexa+ and Gemini, but the former is already reasonably capable of holding a conversation from a smart display. I asked Alexa+ a series of questions about fantasy football, and it provided a breakdown of how the game is played, then suggested specific players to consider at various value levels. It never repeated the same players as I continued to ask for more, and its advice was reasonable, if a bit dated. Throughout the conversation, I never had to repeat the wake word “Alexa.” It would simply respond to one prompt and then wait for my follow-up question.
Alexa+ can also help you search for deals on Amazon or make reservations on OpenTable. It can remind you when concert tickets for your favorite band go on sale, and help you summarize and draft emails. It can even remember details about your food preferences if you ask for recipe recommendations.
Gemini should be equally capable in terms of conversational capabilities. During a demo before launch, I saw it go back and forth in a discussion of how best to fix a dishwasher. Gemini Live is a premium feature that essentially turns the mic on until you say "stop" and allows you to interact with the assistant back and forth. During the demo, I saw the presenter continually interrupt Gemini, ask new questions, pivot the subject, and request additional details or a reframing of the information just given. Gemini kept up at each turn.
Since Gemini is just rolling out to smart home devices, some of its specifics have not yet been established. However, we have already reviewed the mobile app and web version and awarded it an excellent four-star score, citing its value and complex reasoning capabilities.
For now, both AI assistants show considerable promise in the smart home, but since they are still in early access, let’s call this category a draw.
Winner: Tie
Smart Home Device Control
Both Alexa+ and Gemini should make it easier to control your smart home without needing to remember exact phrases and device names. Both will respond more fluidly to grouped commands, allowing you to ask them to turn off multiple lights, lock the doors, and close the blinds. Previously, you had to space out those commands.
You can also use voice commands to set up routines on both platforms, such as telling your assistant to lock the doors if the cameras detect motion or turn on the lights at sunset, for instance. This should significantly lower the barrier to automating your home.
Both assistants will also have contextual awareness, so you can say, “Turn on the lights in this room,” and they’ll know which room you mean based on the location of the smart speaker that hears you.
Amazon and Google both have entertainment platforms, so their AI assistants will be able to help you find something to watch. Both have smart home security devices as well: Amazon's Ring cameras will work with Alexa+ to provide contextually appropriate greetings to people who come to your door, while Google's Nest cameras will use AI to summarize clips and make them more easily searchable.
As with their conversational qualities, the smart home capabilities of both AI bots are likely to develop rapidly. Right now, it’s too soon to declare a winner.
Winner: Tie
The Winner: Stay Tuned
Amazon’s Alexa+ and Google’s Gemini are poised to be the most significant advancements for the smart home in years, with AI helping to break down barriers to entry in terms of ease of use. While declaring a tie for now is admittedly unexciting, the fact that this race is too close to call from the outset is a good thing. Just as they did in the early days of voice controls, look for Amazon and Google to push each other on this front. The competition between the two should lead to interesting innovations, as the smart home explores its exciting new AI frontier, and we'll be tracking it every step of the way, so check back soon for more developments.