Mexico is the first country to receive Alexa+ outside of English
Amazon has just made a move in the AI assistant race. And he did it betting on Mexico. The country becomes the first international market – outside the United States – where Alexa+ will be available in a language other than English.
The most striking thing: there will be no additional cost for Amazon Prime members. For the rest, there will be a monthly subscription.
It’s not just another chatbot, they say
Carlos Pérez, general director of Alexa for the Americas, was clear during the presentation:
“What we are launching is not a chatbot, it is not a language model… For us it goes much further: it is a personal assistant with ambient intelligence that, obviously, works with AI.”
The key difference, according to Pérez, is in the ability to take actions in the real world. While many chatbots limit themselves to providing information, Alexa+ aims to do things for you.
How does that work? I give you concrete examples that showed:
- In the living room: “Alexa, make a playlist with three artists that I’m going to tell you”
- In the office: Just say “it’s hot” to turn on the compatible fan
- In the kitchen: Mention the ingredients in the refrigerator to suggest recipes
Five keys to the new assistant
Pérez detailed the differentiators compared to the original version:
- More conversational: You will interact as if you were talking to a friend, with informal language.
- More capable and intelligent: Connected to real-time information and technical responses when needed.
- Deeply personal: You will remember specific preferences of each family member.
- Designed to perform: From planning outings to reserving tables at restaurants.
- Authentically local: Understand Mexican expressions and cultural context.
“We made a great effort with scientists, engineers, product managers… to ensure that Alexa+, in addition to speaking Spanish, understood Mexicans,” Pérez stressed.
How to access now
The deployment will be progressive. Starting on January 22, an early access program will begin: 100 thousand Prime customers will be invited each week to try it out.
Another immediate route: buy a new compatible Echo device. The base already exists – millions of Mexicans have Echos that will work with the update.
For those who are not Prime: there will be a separate subscription for 399 pesos per month.
Amazon is already working on bringing Alexa+ to other international markets. But today, our focus is on how Mexico responds to this assistant who promises to understand not only our words, but our context.
