But unlike before, when Alexa was offered for free on any Alexa-enabled device, customers will have to pay Amazon a monthly fee of $19.99 for the revamped voice assistant, which it calls Alexa+. However,

Alexa Plus will start rolling out next month in early access. It's an opt-in service and won't be available to everyone through an over-the-air update in March.

Amazon is finally launching the long-awaited generative AI version of Alexa — Alexa Plus — that, if all goes well, will take away much of the friction that comes with talking to a speaker to control your smart home or getting info on the fly.