Skills on Alexa+

Amazon has begun rolling out an update to Alexa devices in select regions, replacing the "original Alexa" operating system with a new AI-powered version called Alexa+.

The scale of the change, combined with the early-access rollout, means that, in Amazon's own words, "not all features/Skills will be compatible or work properly".

We are exploring ways to ensure stations with Aiir-powered Alexa skills remain available to listeners who have updated their device to Alexa+.

Amazon has stated it will continue to support "original Alexa" and is still encouraging developers to create new skills for it, although there currently appears to be no backwards compatibility for those skills once devices have Alexa+ enabled.

Not all Alexa devices will be compatible with Alexa+. Those which aren't will continue to run "original Alexa" and retain full access to the Skills Store.

The current advice from Amazon for Alexa listeners who find their skills no longer work is to opt out of the early-access program, which enabled Alexa+ on their device by saying "Alexa, end Early Access."