If you’ve just learned how to use Alexa and aren’t sure where to begin, you’re not alone in feeling a little lost. It’s difficult to know where to begin with Echo devices because they can do such a wide variety of things! Aside from the fundamental functionalities that Amazon has built into Alexa, there are thousands of skills that have been created by third-party developers, which significantly expand the smart speaker’s usefulness. Here are only 25 of the wonderful things Alexa can do to help you get started on realizing her full potential:
1. Listen to books: The titles that Alexa can read to you can be found in the companion app’s Kindle Book section under Kindle Book section. When you’re finished, just say “Alexa, read [book title]” and she’ll read the information aloud. This is particularly handy for folks who enjoy reading but do not have the luxury of sitting down for long periods.
2. Provide exact weather updates: A third-party ability called Big Sky provides hyperlocal weather reports and forecasts for users in their immediate vicinity. It will provide you with extensive information about the present and upcoming weather conditions from your current location. If you ask Alexa when the rain will begin and end at your location, she will give you a forecast that is so exact that it borders on the creepy-crawly.
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You can now ask Alexa to assist you in locating a misplaced phone whenever you misplace your phone.
3. When she calls you if your phone is not on quiet mode, you should hear it ring. If it is, hang up. If your smartphone is turned to mute, however, she will be unable to assist you.
4. When you hear the sound of falling rain, a crackling fireplace, or the crashing of waves on the beach, it can assist to soothe your nerves. If you’re having difficulties going asleep, Alexa can assist you by playing soothing noises on repeat in your room.
5. This Day in History skill is one of the most popular Alexa skills, and it provides information about what happened on this particular day in history. Alexa will respond with historical information about events that occurred today or on any other day of the year when you say, “Alexa, launch This Day in History.”
6. Request a cab: You can request a cab with the Uber or Lyft skill on your Amazon Echo device. A cab will arrive at your door in minutes if you simply speak the words “Alexa, call me a taxi.” “We used to say hit a button, get a ride,” said Matt Wyndowe, Uber’s head of product partnerships. “Now, with the help of Alexa, you don’t have to lift a finger.”
7. Order pizza: Through the Domino’s and Pizza Hut skills, you may ask Alexa to place an order for your pizza. It’s never been easier to have pizza delivered to your doorstep!
8) Make a vacation plan: There are hundreds of skills accessible in the Alexa database that can assist you in making a vacation plan for your next trip. The Kayak skill can provide you with information on airfares as well as the ability to reserve a hotel room. If you want, OpenTable may make reservations for you at the restaurant of your choosing. With the My ETA skill, you may even get an estimate of how long it will take you to arrive.
9. Unless you’re one of those persons who finds duties soothing, cleaning your house is something that no one enjoys doing. Because your Amazon Echo can assist you in cleaning your home by connecting your Neato or Roomba to your Alexa, it is a good thing! Simply say, “Alexa, command Roomba to begin cleaning,” and your dependable vacuum cleaner will get to work on the task at hand.
10. Learn to tune your guitar: This is an important skill. Guitar Tuner plays a note that is in tune, and then you can tune the note on your guitar until it sounds exactly like the note that is being played by Guitar Tuner. Unless you are great at tuning by ear, this is a technique that is extremely beneficial for guitar players.
11. Roll the dice: Do you have a board game but have misplaced the dice? Alexa may be able to come to your aid. You can instruct Alexa to roll a single die or several dice. You can even request that she roll a 20-sided die for you.
12. Supporting your physical activity by activating skills such as Fitness Guru, My Workouts, HiFit Home: Workouts, 5-Minute Plank Exercise, My Gorgeous Trainer, and 7-Minute Workout can help you get in shape and turn Alexa into your very own personal fitness trainer.
13. Provide recipes: Alexa can assist you in adding things to your shopping list as well as in preparing meals. If you’re not in the mood to go grocery shopping, the Best Meals skill will provide you with breakfast, lunch, and dinner recipes that use only the ingredients you already have on hand. The Cook’s Illustrated expertise can also provide you with the best cooking tips and recipes available.
14. Create a to-do list: Adding items to your to-do list is a cinch with Alexa, thanks to her simple interface. Simply inform her of what you need to accomplish or what you want to purchase, and she will ensure that it is included on the appropriate list. Furthermore, because Alexa is a platform to which other services may connect, your to-do list can be merged with other apps as well as Alexa.
15. To turn the lights on or off, simply say “Alexa, turn on the lights.” Because the Amazon Echo is capable of managing your smart lights, plugs, and switches, you may ask Alexa to turn the lights on or off with your voice. However, the smart speaker is capable of far more than that. Because Alexa can control smart gadgets as long as they are connected to her, she will be able to control them.
16. Take use of Alexa’s built-in Flash Briefing talent, which keeps you up to date on the day’s news, but there are more skills you can integrate to provide more in-depth updates on certain themes.
17) Learn about nutrition facts: Track by Nutritionix is a cutting-edge meal monitoring application that will assist you in making more nutritious food choices. You may ask Alexa for precise nutritional information on thousands of common items, and she will provide you with the facts. This talent makes it simple to enter the food you are consuming and provides you with the total number of calories you need to keep track of your caloric consumption.
18 “Our goal is to make it easy for consumers to understand what they are eating. ” “We are pleased to be able to help millions of Amazon Alexa customers better understand and keep track of the foods they consume daily with the debut of our Amazon Alexa skill,” said Matt Silverman, Director of Product at Nutritionix.
The ability to track Amazon parcels means that if you purchase something from Amazon, you won’t have to go out your phone or log into your computer to find out when your package will arrive. Using Alexa, you can now keep track of your Amazon orders.
This ability only works for Amazon deliveries, so if you have a box delivered by FedEx, UPS, or the USPS, your Amazon Echo will be unable to provide you with shipment information until you enable a third-party skill that specializes in tracking orders from those companies.
19. Allows you to participate in a Batman-themed adventure: If you enable The Wayne Investigation talent, you will be able to participate in the investigation of the murder of Bruce Wayne’s parents. In this choose-your-own-adventure game from Amazon, Alexa will lead you through the choices you make, and it can take anywhere from 5 to 40 minutes to solve the mystery, depending on how you play.
20. Request assistance from your friends: The AskMyBuddy Skill allows you to request assistance from your friends through Alexa if you are ever in an emergency scenario and your phone is out of reach. Once activated, the talent will immediately begin sending out alarm messages through voice call, SMS text message, and email to one or more specified contacts, depending on your preferences.
Pat Coggins, a co-founder of AskMyBuddy.net, stated, “Our objective is to assist end-users regardless of the device or service they are using.” Several of our users currently have an in-home alert device, but they don’t always wear it around the house. Integrating their existing service with Ask My Buddy would give them the extra protection of voice activation from any location in the home.”
21. Locate restaurants: If you ask Alexa where you can get pizza or Chinese food, she will provide you with recommendations based on Yelp data on where to find them. Additionally, there is a valuable skill called Random Restaurant, which will select a random restaurant for you to visit if you are having trouble deciding where to eat.
22. Make light of the situation: Alexa is serious about performing chores for you, but she also has a sense of humor. Although Alexa does not have any third-party abilities, she can still provide humor if you know what to ask. When you are near your Echo, try the following exercises: Alexa, can you tell me how much you weigh? Does Alexa have any pets of her own? Alexa, do you want to become my girlfriend? Alexa, I’m having a 99-problem day. What is the numerical value of pi, Alexa? Do you know who Siri is, Alexa? Alexa, what are your thoughts on Cortana right now? My name is Inigo Montoya, and I am your father. Alexa, I am your father. Alexa, when you grow up, what do you want to be or do you already know?
23. Set up reminders: You may program Alexa to remind you when a task or appointment is due so that you don’t forget about it. To wake you up in the morning, or to remind you that it’s time to go somewhere or do something, you can set an Alexa alarm to wake you up. Don’t even think about forgetting!
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24. Check traffic: Alexa has a built-in skill that gives you an estimate of the time it will take you to complete your daily commute and the quickest route to take. “How’s traffic?” “How’s my commute?” or “How’s the traffic like right now?” are all appropriate questions to ask. Additionally, Alexa will inform you of the condition of the roads before you even leave the house.
25. Shop: This is a no-brainer, but Alexa can place and cancel Amazon orders for you, which is fairly convenient.
