The 2026 BMW iX3 Voice Assistant Will Be Powered by Alexa+

BMW is set to introduce Amazon's next-generation voice assistant in one of its vehicles for the first time. Amazon announced on Monday that the 2026 BMW iX3 will feature Alexa+, the company's generative AI–powered voice assistant, which debuted last year on millions of Amazon devices. The announcement was made during the 2026 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.

The BMW iX3 will be the first production vehicle to launch with Alexa+, marking a significant step in Amazon's broader strategy to expand its large language model–powered assistant beyond the home and into every device consumers interact with—including cars. Alexa+ is already available on more than 600 million devices, and automotive integration is the company's next primary focus.

For Amazon, the BMW iX3 represents a key test case. Automakers have long struggled to deploy in-car voice assistants that can handle complex, multi-step requests without frustrating drivers. While natural language processing technology has advanced over the past decade, in-vehicle voice systems have often failed to deliver seamless, human-like interactions.

The Alexa+ integration is the result of a three-year collaboration between BMW and Amazon. In 2022, BMW announced that Amazon Alexa would serve as the foundation for its next-generation in-car voice assistant. Rather than simply embedding Alexa, BMW opted to build a customised version using Alexa Custom Assistant, Amazon's platform that allows companies to develop branded voice experiences on top of Alexa's underlying technology.

That original timeline was extended as Amazon developed an automotive-ready version of Alexa+, a reengineered assistant powered by large language models designed to enable more natural, conversational interactions.

Alexa+ is built on Amazon Bedrock, a service that enables AWS customers to build applications using generative AI models from Amazon and select third-party providers. Automakers like BMW can then tailor the assistant using their own proprietary data and vehicle systems.

According to Amazon, the result is a voice assistant capable of understanding complex requests, reasoning through multiple steps, and taking actions across different services. For example, a user could begin a conversation with Alexa+ on an Echo device at home and seamlessly continue it in their BMW. Inside the vehicle, Alexa+ can handle tasks that would typically require switching between apps, such as controlling music, setting navigation routes, or interacting with connected home security systems.

With the 2026 BMW iX3, Amazon and BMW are betting that generative AI–powered voice technology can finally deliver the intuitive, low-friction in-car experience drivers have long been promised.