There are so many different kinds of things you can ask Alexa on your Amazon Echo. Some of them are useful and can be used to help you with certain situations day to day.
If you have recently got yourself an Echo for your home and want to understand its capabilities a bit more, read on.
What is Alexa?
Alexa is an Amazon service that’s available on more than a hundred million devices. It includes third-party hardware and software that will allow users to interact with their devices and technology more easily.
It’s a virtual assistant program that was modelled after a Polish speech synthesiser called Ivona, which was purchased by Amazon in 2013. It can play music, set alarms, and provide other useful information through its various functions, such as weather and traffic.
It was initially used in various smart speakers such as the Amazon Echo and the Echo Dot.
Alexa can also be used to control various smart devices through its home automation system. Users can add additional features to its capabilities by downloading skills, which allow them to access third-party applications and features.
Things You Can Ask Alexa to do
If you are trying to see what cool things Alexa can do start with this list. As there is no monthly fee or subscription service required it could not be simpler to enjoy your Alexa device.
Ask about the weather
Alexa has built-in support for weather forecasts, it provides hyper-local forecasts that are based on your address. The service uses data from Dark Sky, and it can provide information on humidity, wind speed, and more.
Play an audiobook
If you’re a fan of reading, you might also want to try out an audiobook service like Audible. It allows you to listen to books while doing other tasks. You can also use an Amazon Echo speaker to play books from the Amazon Kindle library.
Play Music
Alexa can play music from various services, such as Amazon Music, Apple Music, Deezer, Pandora, and more. You can also play songs from Amazon’s library and create custom playlists based on your mood or specific activities.
Connect to your Fitbit
You can also ask Alexa to check out your progress toward reaching your daily step goal. It will show you how many steps you have taken, how well you slept, and other details from your Fitbit.
Give you recipes
You can have your Alexa read you a recipe by simply asking.
Tell you the news
The NPR Hourly News Summary is a 5-minute briefing of the day’s headlines, updated every hour. Simply ask Alexa to tell you the news.
Turn on and off lights
You can simply turn off your lights using Alexa by saying “Turn off my connected lights.” This skill is useful if you have a variety of smart home platforms. You’ll need a smart plug or a smart bulb connected for this.
Tell you a joke
Alexa, tell me a joke. You can simply ask your device to tell you a joke to make you laugh. This can be more specific.
Tell you some trivia
Ask about the random fact of the day or something interesting about history, or any other topic.
The list of skills and tasks Alexa can complete for you is much more than I even realised. I have Alexa on my Amazon echo show which I recently upgraded from an Echo dot. It currently sits on my bedside table and starts the day with a routine that turns on compatible lights.
You may have a lot of questions about Alexa, such as if it’s listening to everything you say or does it listen to conversations. The answer is no, as all of the Echo devices are built with your privacy in mind. As a privacy protection method, the built-in camera and microphones are designed to be disconnected using the press of a button. I have heard conspiracy theories about being spied on and having conversations leaked but I’m pretty confident we are safe.
The ability of Alexa on the amazon echo show is far more than I have even managed to master as of yet. But I am always keen to learn more and as I turn more features in my house into smart appliances I expect Alexa to be able to help with managing them.
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