The news in brief

Amazon is broadening Alexa+ from a talk-to-do tool into a true service marketplace. On December 22, 2025, Amazon said four new partners—Expedia, Yelp, Angi, and Square—are building “agentic” integrations that let Alexa+ find options, compare, and complete bookings for travel, local home services, and beauty/wellness appointments, with experiences starting to roll out in 2026. Amazon and early coverage in TechCrunch outline the first wave of capabilities.

Alexa+ with Expedia, Yelp, Angi and Square logos, showing a conversational booking flow on an Echo Show

What’s actually new—and why it matters

Alexa+ already connected to services like OpenTable, Uber, Ticketmaster, and Thumbtack. This next batch widens its scope from “nice-to-have” conveniences to “gets-life-done” tasks:

  • Expedia: conversational hotel search, comparison, and booking—e.g., “Find pet-friendly boutique hotels under $200 near downtown Chicago,” then refine by neighborhood or amenities, and book directly in Alexa+. Amazon
  • Angi: request quotes and hire licensed pros for jobs from plumbing to landscaping, all by voice. Amazon
  • Yelp: bring ratings, reviews, and local availability into Alexa+ so you can shortlist trustworthy home-service providers without juggling apps. Amazon
  • Square: check availability and schedule (or reschedule) appointments with salons, spas, and barbers that run on Square Appointments—right from a conversation. Amazon

What each partner enables

PartnerCategoryWhat you can doExample prompt
ExpediaTravelCompare and book hotels via voice“I’ll be in Rome in May—show boutique hotels downtown under $200.”
AngiHome servicesDescribe a job, get quotes, book a pro“Find a licensed plumber who can come this weekend.”
YelpLocal discoveryUse reviews + filters to pick providers“Who’s the best-rated carpet cleaner near me with availability tomorrow?”
SquareBeauty & wellnessCheck slots and book or reschedule“Move my haircut to Friday after 4 p.m.”

Together, these integrations push Alexa+ from Q&A toward real-world task completion—what Amazon calls “agentic” actions. Under the hood, Alexa+ can call APIs or, when APIs aren’t ready, use a supervised “web action” flow to navigate partner sites on your behalf. Amazon introduced new AI‑native SDKs (Action, Web Action, and Multi‑Agent) to make these experiences easier to build and safer to run. Amazon Developer Blog

Timing, pricing, and where you’ll be able to use this

  • Launch window: Amazon says the Expedia, Yelp, Angi, and Square experiences start arriving in 2026, with details and coverage published December 22–23, 2025. Amazon, TechCrunch
  • Availability today: Alexa+ itself began U.S. early access after Amazon’s February 26, 2025 event, with a gradual waitlist rollout and a Canada early access launch on November 19, 2025. Amazon—event, Amazon—Canada
  • Price: Alexa+ is included with Prime and costs $19.99/month for non‑Prime users in the U.S. (CA$27.99 in Canada). Amazon, Amazon—Canada
$19.99/mo
Alexa+ price (non‑Prime)Source: aboutamazon-2025-02-26
1M+ users (June 2025)
Alexa+ early access reachSource: techcrunch-2025-06-23

How it works under the hood (and why that’s different from “skills”)

For years, Alexa relied on “skills” that users had to remember and invoke. Alexa+ flips that model: you describe the goal, and Alexa picks the right “expert” and integration to execute it—sometimes coordinating multiple services. Amazon says Alexa+ is “model‑agnostic,” routing tasks across its in‑house Nova family and partner models like Anthropic’s Claude, via AWS Bedrock, to balance speed, accuracy, and safety. Amazon, TechCrunch

This architecture is also showing up across Amazon’s ecosystem—for example, Alexa+ now powers richer music discovery inside the Amazon Music app and can even handle conversational Ring doorbell greetings in early access. TechCrunch, Amazon—Ring

Why this could be a productivity unlock

Three patterns make these integrations compelling for everyday automation:

  1. Single‑sentence to done: Booking a hotel, hiring a pro, or moving a salon appointment becomes a single conversational flow that Alexa+ can carry across apps, confirmation screens, and payment steps.
  2. Context and memory: Alexa+ can remember preferences (e.g., pet‑friendly hotels, preferred barbers, budget ranges) and apply them across requests. Amazon
  3. Ambient access: On Echo Shows (and increasingly the Music app), you can start by voice and finish with a quick tap—useful for confirmations and upsells like room upgrades or add‑on services. The Verge, TechCrunch
TipTry these when the integrations arrive
  • “Find me a boutique, pet‑friendly hotel in Chicago this weekend under $200 and book the top pick.” (Expedia)
  • “Get me three quotes for mounting a 65‑inch TV tomorrow and book the earliest.” (Angi/Yelp)
  • “Reschedule my haircut with Jasmine to Friday after 4 p.m. and text me the confirmation.” (Square)

The competitive picture

All the big assistants are racing toward “agent” behavior. OpenAI added first‑party “apps” so ChatGPT can search, transact, and orchestrate tasks. OpenAI Apple’s Apple Intelligence roadmap brings in‑app actions and on‑screen awareness to Siri, rolling out in stages. Apple, Apple—Sept. 2025 update Google is migrating users from Assistant to Gemini, with timelines now extending into 2026. The Verge

Where Alexa+ could stand out is breadth of real‑world hookups—“tens of thousands of services and devices,” according to Amazon—and a strong home footing (Echo, Ring, Fire TV) that knits together media, shopping, and smart home tasks. Amazon

What it means for businesses

  • Travel and hospitality: Expedia’s conversational funnel could shift more top‑of‑funnel discovery into voice, where upsells hinge on how well Alexa+ presents trade‑offs (price vs. location vs. amenities). Amazon
  • Home services: Angi and Yelp bring supply depth and trust signals (licenses, reviews, response times). Expect higher‑quality leads and faster time‑to‑hire if Alexa+ compresses the quote/booking steps. Amazon
  • Beauty and wellness: Square Appointments can treat Alexa+ as an always‑open front desk. If rescheduling and cancellations are seamless, rebook rates should rise. Amazon
  • Developer ecosystem: The Action and Web Action SDKs reduce integration friction. If agents can safely navigate web flows, more services can participate sooner—even before full APIs exist. Amazon Developer Blog

How to prepare (users and teams)

The bottom line

Alexa+ adding Expedia, Yelp, Angi, and Square is less about logos and more about end‑to‑end task completion. If Amazon executes on the agent promise—reliable actions, clear confirmations, and strong privacy controls—voice could finally feel faster than tapping through a dozen screens. The next twelve months will tell whether these integrations become daily habits or remain clever demos.

Sources