Like all virtual assistants on the market, Alexa is capable of fulfilling a number of useful commands. Users often buy Amazon Echo because it is makes it much easier to play music, write lists, and set reminders. But oftentimes, users don’t know all the commands that Alexa can fulfill. Here we will give you a list of the best things to ask Alexa, ranging from the basic to the brand new.
Alexa Play Music
One major feature of Alexa is her ability to play music. Users can either listen to music through the Amazon Echo speakers or connect their own speakers. Here are some of the commands you can tell Alexa to play music:
Play music: “Alexa, play some music.”
Queue specific song or artist: “Alexa, play music by [artist].”
Play a song based on context: “Alexa, play the latest Avett Brothers album” or, “Alexa, play that song that goes ‘Gotta gotta be down, because I want it all.'”
Play the song of the day: “Alexa, play the song of the day.”
Play Spotify music: “Alexa, play my Discover Weekly on Spotify.”
Play an audiobook: “Alexa, play [title] on Audible,” “Alexa, read [title]” or, “Alexa, play the book, [title].”
Set a sleep timer: “Alexa set a sleep timer for 30 minutes” or, “Alexa, stop playing in 30 minutes.”
Like or dislike a song on Pandora and iHeartRadio: “Alexa, I like this song” or, “Alexa, thumbs down.”
Alexa To-Do Lists, Shopping Lists, and Purchasing
Alexa can handle creating and editing shopping lists for users, saving paper or finding your phone. She can also order new items for you when you run out of essentials or want to purchase a new item. Here are some of the commands she will respond to:
Create a new to-do item: “Alexa, create a to-do.”
Add an event to a calendar: “Alexa, add [event] to my calendar for [day] at [time]”
Create a shopping list: “Alexa, I need to buy laundry detergent.”
Check your shopping list: “Alexa, what’s on my shopping list?”
Reorder essentials from Amazon: “Alexa, buy more deodorant” or, “Alexa, reorder deodorant.”
Track packages from Amazon: “Alexa, where’s my stuff?” or, “Alexa, track my order.”
Add an item to your cart: “Alexa, add garbage bags to my cart.”
Alexa Calculator
If you don’t own a calculator or find using your phone’s calculator difficult, Alexa can compute equations and answer basic math questions. Be warned, if you ask Alexa to compute something with a long answer or to recite pi, you might be listening for awhile.
Convert units: “Alexa, how many [units] are in 2 [units]?”
Basic math: “Alexa, what’s 5 plus 7?” or, “Alexa, what’s 56 times 33
Alexa Smart Home Controls
For people who have hooked up Echo with smart home devices, such as light bulbs or thermostats, Alexa can be asked to control the devices. Here are some commands:
Turn lights on or off: “Alexa, turn on the lights” or, “Alexa, turn off the living room lights.”
Dim the lights: “Alexa, dim the lights to 50 percent.”
Change the color of the lights: “Alexa, make the living room lights red” or, ” Alexa, turn the lights to soft white.”
Change the color temperature of the lights: “Alexa, make the kitchen lights a little warmer.”
Adjust temperature: “Alexa, raise the temperature 1 degree.”
Set temperature: “Alexa, set the temperature to 72.”
Alexa Skills
Alexa has been recently equipped with over 10,000 new skills she can learn. Some skills have been developed by Amazon while others have been created by third-party developers. To “teach” Alexa a new skill, users will have to say “Alexa, enable [skill]”, or “Alexa, open [skill].” For some skills, you will need to go into the app to enable it. Each skill has its own commands. Here are some skills you can ask Alexa to enable:
“Alexa, open NASA Mars.”
“Alexa, ask NASA Mars for a Curiosity rover update.”
“Alexa, ask NASA Mars: Why is Mars red?”
“Alexa, open MySomm.”
“Alexa, ask Wine Gal what goes with chicken.”
“Alexa, open Domino’s.”
“Alexa, place my Easy Order”
“Alexa, open Domino’s to track my order.”