Alexa+ just upgraded one of my favourite Echo Show features – and I can’t stop using it

Last year, Amazon held its Fall 2025 Event and announced it would be launching Alexa+, a more personalised and conversational version of its Alexa voice assistant. While it was originally launched back then for US customers, Alexa+ recently launched in the UK so many people – including members of the T3 team – have been using it ever since.

Available on compatible Echo smart speakers and Echo Show displays, Alexa+ is now easier and more natural to talk to, so it can understand requests better and turn them into actions quicker. It can even give personalised responses to each member of your household by analysing and identifying voices.

Taking this to the next level is the Alexa+ visual recognition feature which is available on Echo Show 8, 10, 15 and 21 devices. Rather than recognising your voice – which it can still do – Alexa+ uses the cameras on your Show display and generative AI to personalise its responses and homepage to each user.

For a more personalised experience, Alexa+ can now recognise different members of your household and adapt its display to show you your calendar, reminders and appointments as you approach the screen. It can even identify and locate objects, and answer questions you ask it while holding items up to the screen.

This action of answering questions related to what you’re holding is similar to the Show and Tell feature which was already available on Echo Show devices and with the ‘older’ version of Alexa. Using the camera, the Show and Tell feature would allow you to ask Alexa to identify an object you’re holding.

After holding an item in front of the Echo Show’s camera, users could then ask Alexa “what’s in my hand?” and it would identify the object and offer a brief description. So, this aspect of Alexa+ visual recognition is somewhat similar to Show and Tell but is much more advanced, thanks to its use of AI.

For example, Alexa+ and visual recognition can offer suggestions and tips related to the object you’re holding. If you were to hold up a certain vegetable to your Echo Show device and ask “what should I make with this?”, Alexa+ would come up with recipe ideas.

Another great use case for Alexa+ visual recognition is advice on caring for items around the home. Some users have reported holding up sickly looking plants or flowers to Alexa+ and have asked “what’s wrong with this?” and the voice assistant has detected the plant and how to better care for it.

While I’m still not convinced by AI, I have to say that the Alexa+ visual recognition is actually quite impressive. As someone who was impressed by Show and Tell, this ‘upgrade’ has definitely opened more doors for this type of feature and made organising your home much more seamless.

For more tips on Alexa+, here are 3 things we learned about using Alexa+ for two weeks.