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Virtual assistants will soon become as common 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 the iPhone or Google Assistant (now Gemini) in Android phones.
However, inside our homes, as a widely adopted virtual assistant, Amazon Alexa has become the most popular virtual assistant in the US and around the world. Users in different countries outside the US have 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 of the ways the assistant has changed the way I manage my smart home and use my Echo devices.
1. Become a lighting assistant
Every time I enter my bedroom’s attached bathroom, an Echo Dot turns on the lights and says, “Hello, gorgeous.” The Echo Dot’s occupancy sensor detects when someone is nearby and runs a routine of turning on the lights and saying a phrase.
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I have a smart wall light switch with a built-in motion sensor that turns on at night every time car headlights appear at its front window. Apart from being scary, it was also getting annoying when my bathroom lights randomly turned on at four in the morning, so I handed this task over to Alexa.
2. Streamline your nightly routine
You’ve probably heard of the “Alexa, good night” routine to turn off your smart lights. However, there are many ways to use this approach and create multiple routines for each bedroom or area of your home.
For our main living area, I have a lights-out routine that turns off the living room, kitchen, office, and exterior lights. This task is accomplished using smart lights and smart plugs.
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Our kids’ rooms have their own routines. When we say, “Alexa, it’s time to sleep,” their sound machine turns on (powered by the smart plug), their bedside lamp turns off, and their smart light strip turns on at 2% brightness, serving as a night light.
When I’m ready for bed, another Alexa command turns off my smart lights, turns on my fan’s smart plug, and sets my smart air purifier to sleep mode.
3. find my phone
When my Apple Watch malfunctions I often feel like I’ve lost my phone, but a quick message to Alexa easily solves that. I can just say, “Alexa, find my phone,” and the voice assistant starts the phone call to ring it.
4. Make Alexa your landline
Alexa works for my family the same way a landline worked in my house growing up. Whenever I’m out and can’t contact my husband, if he’s busy with the kids, I can call one of my Echo devices or make an announcement to contact him.
5. Motivate your children for the next task
In the morning, my kids have an alarm and morning routine set on their Echo Show via Alexa, which helps wake them up before school. Weekday mornings are busy in my house, as I’m packing lunches and snacks while my little ones are getting dressed, so Alexa prompts them for the next task.
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A few minutes after their alarm went off, Alexa turned their lights to daylight white at 100% brightness and told my kids, “Let’s get ready for school.” After a while, it says, “Okay, time to go down.” This prompt helps my kids stay on task so they’re ready to go, and make their beds on time.
6. Track your packages
Alexa can track your Amazon orders from an Echo device by simply asking, “Alexa, where are my packages?” The virtual assistant keeps you informed about the current status of your orders in the shipping process and when you can expect them to arrive at your doorstep.
7. Let others know when you’re busy
I have several smart lights and a smart air purifier in my home office, and I’ve set up routines to let others know when I’m on a call, busy, or when I need to focus on tasks:
- If I say, “Alexa, I’m making a video,” the smart lights turn green and my video becomes the background.
- Saying, “Alexa, I’m on a call,” the light turns red so anyone walking by knows not to interrupt me.
- When I need to focus, I say, “Alexa, it’s work time,” and my lights turn pale white and the smart air purifier turns on, which is quite helpful for dealing with pet dander, since I share a home office with my dog.
8. Multiple timers simultaneously
The Echo Show 21 is my kitchen companion, thanks to its large display that also works 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 at once.
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If I’m cooking and baking at the same time, it’s easy to ask Alexa to set a cupcake timer, chili timer, and more. The voice assistant then tracks multiple timers by name and tells you which one is ready.
9. Make your choices more fun
Many of us use Alexa for fun things, like hearing a joke, learning a fact, or getting definitions. However, you can also ask Alexa to make lighter decisions for you.
Are you and your partner divided over what to have for dinner? Ask Alexa to toss a coin. If your kids are voting about which game to play for game night, ask Alexa to roll the dice. If you enable the Spin the Wheel skill, you can also 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 a variety of sounds ranging from storm noise to gray noise. You can add this feature to your nightly routine or ask the voice assistant for it right away.
11. Make routine your essential order
Skip the simple “turn on the bedside lamp” command and instead make the routine an Alexa prompt for you. You can create a routine that is as simple or complex as you want. For example, create an out-of-the-door routine that turns off all your devices except when you say, “Alexa, I’m going out,” or vice versa to greet you when you come home.
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When I watch movies, I like to dim or turn off the living room lights, and the Nanoleaf 4D mirrors my TV. Instead of performing each action, I have a routine set up that runs the entire process.
12. Substitute Ingredients and Measurements
As a cooking companion, Alexa can easily offer ingredient substitutions and measurement customization, letting you adjust your recipes to the recipes 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 cake.
13. Read a story at bedtime
My kids love their bedtime stories, especially the ones their dad makes up (Peter Pants is a big hit in my house right now). Thankfully, Alexa can help, too. The Amazon Kids+ subscription, which comes free for a period when you purchase an Amazon device for children, lets you activate Hey Disney skills that include lots of Disney stories and audio scenarios.
An Echo device also lets you access Audible stories. You can ask Alexa for these short stories narrated by charming characters that will definitely provide screen-free entertainment for your kids.
14. Use in case of emergency
Alexa can be much more than a voice assistant – as I mentioned above, it can also work like a landline, and, with Alexa Emergency Assist, call for help when needed. One of my biggest concerns about not having a landline is how my kids will call 911 in an emergency. I’ve taught my oldest child to do this on her phone, and I’ve put papers with our phone numbers and addresses on in a few places around the house, but Alexa Emergency Assist eases this worry in the best way possible.
A $5.99 monthly subscription gives My Family uninterrupted access to emergency services through Alexa. This approach is perfect if my husband or I need assistance while caring for our young children. They know that if an emergency occurs, simply saying “Alexa, call for help” will put them in touch with an agent who can dispatch first responders to their home. They don’t even need to provide an address or anything else – all this information is saved in your profile when you set up the service.
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This service gives me peace of mind that if anything happens, I won’t even have to look for my phone; Just using my voice is enough. The subscription also alerts your pre-selected emergency contacts when a call for assistance is made, making the service suitable for seniors who are at risk for falls and spend time alone at home.
You can also store medical information, including allergies and pre-existing conditions, as well as add gate codes and pet details. The subscription also enables your Echo devices to detect sounds like smoke alarms and breaking glass.
15. Take care of your pet
The smart pet feeder has 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 daily life and integrate easily with third-party voice assistants like Alexa and Google.
This approach makes it easy to ask Alexa to feed my dog as needed, or set up a routine to feed him when the backyard lights come on, for example. I can also pair the smart feeder with other devices, so that Alexa can turn on the lights in her area and feed her early in the morning.
16. Become an intercom
I moved from a starter home to a five-bedroom fixer-upper (a home with more money, but that’s a story for another day), and I often joked to my husband that we would need an intercom system when we moved in there. Lo and behold, I now use Alexa and various Echo devices at home as my intercom.
Alexa can make announcements across devices, but it can also send messages and drop by devices, so when I’m in the kitchen and my kids and husband are spread out across the office, bedroom, and playroom, I say “Alexa, announce that dinner is ready,” and everyone gets the message. I make similar announcements before I go to sleep or when it’s time to head out the door and they reach all my devices.
