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Virtual assistants will soon be as commonplace as smartphones — in many parts of the world, they already are. Most smartphones have a built-in assistant powered by artificial intelligence (AI), whether it’s Siri in iPhones or Google Assistant (now Gemini) in Android phones.
Inside our homes, though, Amazon Alexa has become the most popular virtual assistant in the US and around the world, as a widely adopted virtual assistant. Users from various countries outside the US keep Echo devices in their homes with Alexa set to different languages.
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I’ve been using Alexa for a few years, and here are some ways that the assistant has changed the way I manage my smart home and use my Echo devices.
1. Become a lighting assistant
Each time I enter my bedroom’s en-suite bathroom, an Echo Dot greets me by turning on the lights and saying, “Hello, gorgeous.” The Echo Dot’s occupancy sensor detects when someone is near and runs the routine of switching on the lights and saying the phrase.
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I have a smart wall light switch with a built-in motion sensor that turns on at night each time the headlights of a car are spotted on the window opposite it. Aside from getting creeped out when my bathroom lights randomly turned on at four in the morning, it was getting annoying, so I delegated the task to Alexa.
2. Streamline your nightly routines
3. Find my phone
I often seem to lose my phone when my Apple Watch is dead, but a quick word to Alexa easily solves that. I can just say, “Alexa, find my phone,” and the voice assistant initiates a phone call to ring it.
4. Make Alexa your landline
The Echo Show 21 is my kitchen companion, thanks to its large display that doubles as a Fire TV, strong speakers, and built-in Alexa. I use the device to ask Alexa for recipes and set multiple timers for different things simultaneously.
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If I’m baking and cooking at the same time, it’s easy to ask Alexa to keep a cupcake timer, a chili timer, and more. The voice assistant then tracks the multiple timers by name and lets you know which one is ready.
9. Make your choices more fun
Many of us use Alexa for fun stuff, such as hearing a joke, learning a fact, or getting definitions. However, you can also ask Alexa to make lighthearted decisions for you.
Are you and your partner split on what to eat for dinner? Ask Alexa to flip a coin. If your kids are voting about what game to play for game night, ask Alexa to roll a die. If you enable the Spin the Wheel skill, you can even give Alexa up to 10 names and ask it to spin the wheel to choose one at random.
10. Act as a white noise machine
An Echo speaker can become a white noise machine, and Alexa can play various sounds, from thunderstorms to brown noise. You can add the feature to your nightly routine or ask the voice assistant for it on the fly.
11. Make routines your go-to commands
Skip simple “turn on the bedside lamp” commands and instead make routines become your go-to Alexa prompts. You can create routines that are as simple or as intricate as you’d like. For example, create an out-the-door routine that switches off all your devices, except when you say, “Alexa, I’m headed out,” or an opposite one to greet you as you come home.
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When I watch movies, I like to have the living room lights dimmed or off, and the Nanoleaf 4D mirroring my TV. Instead of having to take each action, I have routines set up that run the full process.
12. Substitute ingredients and measurements
As a go-to cooking companion, Alexa can easily offer ingredient substitutions and measurement adaptations, allowing you to adjust your recipes to what you have at home as needed. For example, you can ask Alexa how many tablespoons are in ⅓ cup, or what you can use in place of butter in a cake.
13. Read a bedtime story
Smart pet feeders have been a game-changer for my dog, especially with how busy our lives can be. These inexpensive devices make a big difference in my dog’s day-to-day life and connect easily to third-party voice assistants, such as Alexa and Google.
This approach makes it easy to ask Alexa to feed my dog as needed, or set up routines to feed him when the backyard lights come on, for example. I can also pair the smart feeder with other devices, so Alexa switches on the lights in his area and feeds him in the early morning.
16. Be an intercom
I moved from a starter home to a five-bedroom fixer-upper (more of a money pit, but that’s a story for another day), and I often joked with my husband that we’d need an intercom system when we moved in. Lo and behold, I now use Alexa and the various Echo devices at home as my intercom.
Alexa can make announcements to all devices, but it can also send messages and drop in on devices, so when I’m in the kitchen and my kids and husband are spread out between the office, bedrooms, and playroom, I say “Alexa, announce that dinner is ready,” and everyone gets the message. I make similar announcements for bedtime or when it’s time to head out the door, and they reach all my devices.
