Amazon drops $19.99 Alexa+ fee, makes it free on Fire TV

Amazon is auto-upgrading every compatible Fire TV in the US to Alexa+, its more conversational assistant, whether or not the owner pays for Prime. TechCrunch reports the change eliminates the previous $19.99 per month fee that non-Prime customers had to pay for Alexa+ when it first launched on the new Fire TV hardware last fall.

Eligible devices span current-generation Fire TV Sticks, the Fire TV Cube, Amazon's own Ember smart TVs, and third-party sets from Hisense and Panasonic that ship with Alexa+ built in. Users "won't need to download an app or sign up for a subscription," Amazon says. The upgrade adds conversational content search, smart-home control, Ring camera feeds on the TV, and recommendations filterable by theme, age or popularity. Amazon claims Alexa+ customers hold "nearly twice as many conversations" with the assistant as owners of the older version.

The move lands into a crowded voice-AI stretch on the TV: Google pushed Gemini onto Google TV earlier in 2026, and Roku has already layered AI onto its own voice assistant. Free Alexa+ is now Amazon's answer on the same screen. It also fits a run of Amazon moves we've tracked, including its 7.65 GW off-grid Texas gas plant backing an AI campus earlier this month.