it pretty much puts you to sleep, i cant say the experience is like xanax, but its a trip. and if you stay awake though it, it could get interesting. memory loss is a big thing from it though. a lot of people dont remember stuff they do after taking ambien. like waking up with their car bumpers destroyed because not remembering how to drive or smashing into cars in a parking lot then getting home.
Yeah, ambien tends to give you amnesia, constant memory loss; it also makes you do dumb shit and believe it's a great idea. Zolpidem is weird stuff.
Oh and if you ever take it and stay awake, hide the packet somewhere or sometimes you can forget how many you've had and accidentally keep taking more because of the amnesic effects.