Alexa Plus Adds AI Smart Home, Travel Integrations via MCP
Get the Tech newsletter
Daily tech — startups, AI labs, chips, the launches that shape the next decade. Free.
- Amazon launched an update to Alexa Plus, currently in preview, that connects the assistant to smart home devices from Bosch, Delta, Ecovacs, iRobot, Yale Home, Whirlpool, Tapo, and Eufy, automatically routing requests to the correct device.
- Alexa Plus can now interpret complex, multi-step requests like choosing the correct wash cycle for a cold-only soccer jersey, navigating a washer's cycle options to select the right setting, powered by Amazon's new AI developer toolkit.
- Amazon widely launched the revamped AI assistant in February, but it currently only handles tasks within a limited set of third-party services including Ticketmaster, OpenTable, Uber, Thumbtack, Expedia, Yelp, Square, and Angi.
- Amazon is adopting the open-source Model Context Protocol (MCP) to let more brands integrate with Alexa Plus, with Canva, Headspace, Priceline, Lyft, Cengage, Virgin Atlantic, and Weekend launching integrations later this year.
- Priceline will let customers browse hotels and book trips directly through Alexa Plus, while Priceline, Atom Tickets, Cengage, Fandango, and Taskrabbit will support payments through Amazon Wallet.
Why it matters: By adopting MCP, Amazon opens Alexa Plus to a much broader ecosystem of device makers and service providers, shifting the assistant from a walled garden to an open platform — a move that directly targets the limited third-party service coverage that has constrained Alexa Plus since its February launch.
