I’m a huge fan of Alexa. Why buy a subscription to a music channel or pay for an album when you can just have current music playing all the time. Sure, you’ll have to pay Amazon’s annual or monthly rate to get whatever song you’ll like. But, it’s a lot cheaper and more convenient than trying to keep up with the Jones’ top 20 songs. Alexa is so robust. Just today, I heard my son turning on a chat feature where he and Alexa had a full conversation about the Mavel movies and the bio of their favorite characters. Did you know Alexa’s favorite superhero is Superman?
So, this got me thinking. What are other hidden Alexa commands and skills that could make Alexa even more human and less robot?
Here are the best Alexa commands:
Music – Sure, you can ask Alexa to play a specific song by your favorite artist. But, why not be surprised by the latest radio songs. “Alexa, play Tune In.” Or “Alexa, play Z100.”
Timer – How about setting timers and restrictions for your little ones. Instead of setting a timer on your phone, tell “Alexa, turn this off in 2 minutes.” Best two minute warning. Ever!
Alarm Clock – “Alexa, wake me up everyday at 6:30AM.” Yup, I didn’t know this either until I explored how I can wake up my very-hard-to-wake-up-daughter for school.
Schedule – “Alexa, what’s my schedule today.” Preview your day when you integrate your calendar with Alexa. Pretty cool.
Phone calls – Pair your phone via bluetooth and take calls. “Alexa, call Mom.” “Alexa, answer the call.” Never run and try to track down your phone where you left it with this handsfree phone calling.
There are plenty others, but these albeit basic commands, are what I feel are the best ones to have in your tech support arsenal for Alexa. You can go a step further and “drop in” on your family while outside your house. This one comes in handy to check in or just play a nice spooky Halloween trick.