Skip to main content

Create routines to make Alexa work harder for you

In just a few short years, the Amazon Echo has gone from a random speaker nobody knew what to do with to a staple in the consumer tech space. Amazon's evolved the Echo and Alexa (the AI that powers it) over those years, and one of the most powerful additions so far is a feature called "Alexa Routines." Routines can condense complex commands and multi-step operations to a simple command. So without further ado, here's how to set up Routines with Alexa on your Amazon Echo.

Products used in this guide

How to set up Routines in the Alexa app

You can make Routines as simple or complex as you'd like, and to help you get started, we've got a few tips to make the process as easy as can be. First, let's make a Routine that's activated by voice command:

  1. Launch the Alexa app on your phone or tablet.
  2. Tap the More icon (three lines) in the bottom right corner of the screen.
  3. Tap Routines.

  4. Tap the + icon in the top right corner of the screen.

  5. Tap to Enter your new routine name, or leave this blank.
  6. Select When this happens.
  7. Choose a trigger/prompt to set off your Routine. Here we've selected Voice.
  8. Type in your desired trigger phrase.

  9. Hit Next.

  10. Tap Add action.
  11. Select the actions you want to add. Here we'e asked Alexa to play a song.
  12. Hit Next.

  13. Tap Save.

  14. Choose which device you want to trigger the Routine from.

  15. Tap Save in the top right corner of the screen once you've added all your desired actions.

This is where things get exciting. Right now, you can program Alexa to greet you, say a funny fact, play music, catch you up on the news, control your smart home gadgets, brief you on the traffic, change your Echo's volume, and tell you about the weather. You can add as many of these as you'd like, and once you've got a few in place, you can reorder the position in which Alexa will act on them by pressing down on the two lines next to each command and moving them up or down.

How to set up Scheduled Routines in the Alexa app

In addition to triggering Routines with a special command, you can also have them go off at a certain time of day.

  1. Launch the Alexa app on your phone or tablet.
  2. Tap the More icon (three lines) in the bottom right corner of the screen.
  3. Tap Routines.

  4. Tap the + icon in the top right corner of the screen.

  5. Tap to Enter your new routine name or leave this blank.
  6. Select When this happens.
  7. Now choose Schedule.

  8. Tap At Time to set the Routine for a specific time, or you may choose to have it go off at Sunrise or Sunset.

  9. Select which days you wish for the Routine to run.
  10. Select At time.
  11. Set the time you want your routine to go off.
  12. Tap OK.

  13. Tap Next.

  14. Tap Add action.
  15. Tap the action you wish to add, such as music.

  16. Type the song you wish to play.

  17. Choose the Device from which the song will play.
  18. Tap Next.

  19. Tap Save.

You can view your Routines at any time from the Routines page in the Alexa app, and tapping on an existing one will give you controls for temporarily disabling or deleting it altogether.

Get into a routine with Alexa

Scheduled Alexa Routines can work on any of the best Alexa speakers, display, or smart device, and spoken Alexa routines can work on your phone or tablet with Amazon Alexa installed. Still, the best experience continues to be on the Amazon Echo line.

The go-to Echo

Amazon Echo Dot (4th Gen)

$45 at Amazon

Worth much more than the price.

The Echo Dot (4th Gen) offers improved sound and full Alexa access at an extremely affordable entry price into the Amazon ecosystem.

The fourth generation of the Echo Dot brings the best sound yet and improved design but keeps the classic Echo features like a physical mute switch and that iconic light ring. These are often on sale or packaged in value bundles with other Echos or smart home products, and it's worth picking a few up to put around the house.

Alternative Options

The regular Echo isn't the only Alexa speaker to choose from anymore, and in fact, Alexa isn't limited to speakers alone anymore! Here are some other options if you want to go deeper into the Alexa ecosystem.

Amazon Echo (4th Gen)

$100 at Amazon

The Echo (4th Gen) brings a refreshed design, better-sounding speakers, and Zigbee smart hub integration to the classic Echo speaker.

Amazon Echo Studio

$200 at Amazon

The Echo Studio brings three-dimensional, room-filling sound to any room at a fraction of the price of higher-end audiophile speakers.

Amazon Echo Show 8 (2nd Gen)

$230 at Amazon

If you want an Echo with a big screen that won't take up too much space, the Echo Show 8 (2nd Gen) is the choice for you.

Clinton Bowman contributed to an earlier version of this article.



Source: androidcentral
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

The hidden cost of food delivery

Noah Lichtenstein Contributor Share on Twitter Noah Lichtenstein is the founder and managing partner of Crossover , a diversified private technology fund backed by institutional investors, technology execs and professional athletes and entertainers. More posts by this contributor What Studying Students Teaches Us About Great Apps I’ll admit it: When it comes to food, I’m lazy. There are dozens of great dining options within a few blocks of my home, yet I still end up ordering food through delivery apps four or five times per week. With the growing coronavirus pandemic closing restaurants and consumers self-isolating, it is likely we will see a spike in food delivery much like the 20% jump China reported during the peak of its crisis. With the food delivery sector rocketing toward a projected $365 billion by the end of the decade, I’m clearly not the only one turning to delivery apps even before the pandemic hit. Thanks to technology (and VC funding) we can get a ri
Read more

Cyber Monday Canada: Last-minute deals for everyone on your list

Best Cyber Monday Canada deals: Smart Home Audio Phones, Tablets & Accessories Wearables Laptops & PC Components Amazon products Gaming Televisions Cameras Lifestyle & Kitchen Toys & Kids Cyber Monday Canada is here, and retailers are rolling out the red carpet for customers who want to shop for everything from tech to kitchenware to games and everything in between. Unlike years past, Cyber Monday Canada deals look a bit different than normal. Instead of retailers trying to pack their stores with as many shoppers as possible, we're seeing tons of online deals that you can take advantage of from the comfort of your home. We've rounded up our favorites below, so feel free to browse through the best of what Canada Cyber Monday has to offer! This list is being updated with new Cyber Monday deals all the time, so check back often. Spotlight deals It's a Switch Nintendo Switch Fortnite Edition bundle $399.95 at Amazon It's a Switch.
Read more

iPhone 13 Pro vs. iPhone 15 Pro Buyer's Guide: 50+ Differences Compared

The iPhone 15 Pro brings over 50 new features and improvements to Apple's high-end smartphones compared to the iPhone 13 Pro, which was released two years prior. This buyer's guide breaks down every major difference you should be aware of between the two generations and helps you to decide whether it's worth upgrading. The ‌iPhone 13‌ Pro debuted in 2021, introducing a brighter display with ProMotion technology for refresh rates up to 120Hz, the A15 Bionic chip, a telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom, Macro photography and photographic styles, Cinematic mode for recording videos with shallow depth of field, ProRes video recording, a 1TB storage option, and five hours of additional battery life. The ‌iPhone 13‌ Pro was discontinued upon the announcement of the iPhone 14 Pro in 2022, but it is still possible to get hold of it second-hand. Our guide helps to answer the question of how to decide which of these two iPhone models is best for you and serves as a way to c
Read more

Slack’s new integration deal with AWS could also be about tweaking Microsoft

Slack and Amazon announced a big integration late yesterday afternoon. As part of the deal, Slack will use Amazon Chime for its call feature, while reiterating its commitment to use AWS as its preferred cloud provider to run its infrastructure. At the same time, AWS has agreed to use Slack for internal communications. Make no mistake, this is a big deal as the SaaS communications tool increases its ties with AWS, but this agreement could also be about slighting Microsoft and its rival Teams product by making a deal with a cloud rival. In the past Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield has had choice words for Microsoft saying the Redmond technology giant sees his company as an “existential threat.” Whether that’s true or not — Teams is but one piece of a huge technology company — it’s impossible not to look at the deal in this context. Aligning more deeply with AWS sends a message to Microsoft, whose Azure infrastructure services compete with AWS. Butterfield didn’t say that of course
Read more