Best Alexa Commands

Smart speakers have become the rage in recent times, and almost everyone is excited about it. Amazon is the primary player in the market as it started the whole concept of smart speakers with its Amazon Echo that is powered with Amazon voice assistant and at present, there are a plethora of Alexa powered speakers present in the market. Whether it is Amazon Eco Spot, Eco Dot, Echo Show or any other type of Alexa speakers. Alexa has become part of Windows with the inherent integration to Cortana. People have been using these smart speakers for quite , and they are constantly amazed by the various things that it can do with the voice.

One of the best things regarding Alexa is that it keeps on constantly evolving as new features and new commands are consistently added every other week. In case you wish to take full advantage of your own Alexa speaker, you need to keep up with the latest commands. It can be quite easier said than done since there are unlimited commands that are present. That’s the reason that we have compiled a  complete list of best Alexa commands that you can certainly get the best out of the Amazon Echo speakers. So, let’s delve deeper into the various best Alexa commands that you can use with these speakers.

Best Alexa Commands

Music Controls

We start with a complete list of command that you are actually going to use the most and it is the one which plays the music on the Echo speakers.

1. Playing Songs

By using Alexa, you can easily play songs without any hassle. Whether you are utilizing Amazon Music or any type of third-party music streaming service such as Spotify, you can easily use your own voice to play different songs with Alexa. Just say the commands such as, “Alexa, play <name of the song>” or “Alexa, play <song> on Spotify” and it will do the required action. You can easily ask the Alexa to play any of your specific playlists. For instance, you can say, “Alexa, play Rock playlist on Spotify” and it will actually do it seamlessly.

2. Checking which Song is Playing

In case you are playing any particular random Spotify playlist and you get to hear a song that you don’t actually recognize, then you can ask the Echo to tell you which song is playing by simply saying, “Alexa, what song is this?”

It should be noted that Amazon Echo only tells the song’s name that is playing or the one which it was playing the last. It doesn’t actually recognize the songs which are playing elsewhere, as Siri and Shazam do.

3. Increasing Volume

One of the best things about utilizing Amazon Echo speakers that you can easily control the volume with your own voice. For instance, you can say, “Alexa, increase the volume” and then Echo will increase the volume automatically by a single step. There are other variations of this particular command such as “Alexa, more sound”, “Alexa, higher volume” etc.

4. Decreasing Volume

Similarly, in case you want to reduce the speaker’s volume, all you have to say is “Alexa, decrease the volume”, and then it will decrease the volume automatically by a single step. There are other variations of this particular command such as “Alexa, less sound”, “Alexa, lower volume” etc.

5. Setting Volume to any Particular Value

Decreasing or increasing the volume by these commands provided may suffice a few situations but if you wish to increase or even decrease the volume to any particular value, you can easily do that. In case you use the above-mentioned commands, you may have to do it multiple times. In these situations, you can just say, “Alexa, volume 5” in order to set the volume to 50 percent of the actual maximum value of the speakers. You can easily use a value between 0 and 10 in the command to easily go from 0 percent to 100 percent.

Other variations of this particular command are “Alexa, change volume to 50 percent”, “Alexa, set volume to 5” etc. It is among the best Alexa commands.

Time-Related Commands

1. Getting the Current Time

Amazon Echo devices can easily tell you the time too. It is quite useful in various situations, and if you wish to use this particular command, all you need  to say is “Alexa, what is the time?” and the Echo speaker will tell you the current time. Other variations of this particular command are “Alexa, tell me the time”, “Alexa, what time it is?” and many more.

2. Setting Alarms

You can easily set alarms on your own Amazon Echo devices through Alexa. The command is quite simple, and you just have to say “Alexa, set an alarm for 8 AM”. You can easily change the time to any particular time that you want. Echo utilizes the local time as per the location that you have actually set in your Alexa app, so ensure that it is actually set correctly.

Another variation of this particular command is “Alexa, wake me up at 8 AM”.

3. Setting Timers

Amazon Echo also allows you to set times. Just say, “Alexa, set a time for 10 minutes” and the Echo will start a 10-minute timer. You can also use another variation of this particular command which is “Alexa, time 10 minutes”.

4. Checking the Time that is left on Your Timer

In case you wish to check the total amount of time which is left on the timer, you can simply ask the Alexa by just saying, “Alexa, how much time is left on my timer” and then Echo will tell you the exact amount of time which is left before the timer is up. Another variation of this particular command is “Alexa, time left on my timer?”.

5. Cancelling Timer

In case you have to cancel the timer, you can just say, “Alexa, cancel my timer” and then Echo will cancel your timer. Another variation of this particular command is “Alexa, cancel timer”.

6. Checking your Next Alarm

In case you have actually set up multiple alarms on the Amazon Echo, and you wish to know when the next alarm is actually set for, just say, “Alexa, when is my next alarm set for?”.

Calendars and Reminders

1. Checking schedule

One of the best thing that you can do with Alexa whenever you are going out or having a meeting is asked Alexa for your schedule. In a few seconds, you will be provided with details of your entire day, and you will be ready to roll. In order to check the schedule, all you have to say is “Alexa, what is on my schedule” and it will subsequently tell you the schedule.

2. Creating events

As you are able to see your entire schedule, you will require to add events as well as meetings in the calendar. You can do it manually by adding it to your calendar or even ask Alexa to do it for you. What you just have to say is “Alexa, add <event> to my calendar”. You can also dictate any specific time as well as data, and the Alexa will easily make the event at the right time as well as the date that you have dictated. For instance, you can say, “Alexa, add a doctor appointment on Monday 3 PM to my calendar” and then it will create the specific event called doctor appointment at the right time as well as the date that you have dictated.

3. Getting calendar forecast

It is great to see that not only you can easily see the schedule for today but even see the forecast for the upcoming days. You just have to say, “Alexa, what am I doing tomorrow? Or even say “Alexa, what is on my calendar for on Wednesday”, and it will then show you all the events for that given day.

4. Creating reminders

Alexa can easily create reminders for you. You just have to say, “Alexa, remind me to buy groceries, 3 PM tomorrow” and it will tell you to do it at the exact time and day.

To-Do and Shopping Lists

1. Adding different Tasks to Your To-Do List

Alexa can easily create a to-do list for you. In case you wish to add any particular task to your own to-do list, just say, “Add curating website content to my to-do list”, and then Echo will easily add this to your own to-do list. You can easily replace “curating website content” with the task that you wish to add to your own to-do list. It is worth noting that while Echo can easily add items to the to-do list, you are required to go into the Alexa app in order to remove the items from the to-do list.

2. Checking Your To-Do List

You can easily ask the Alexa to read out the entire to-do list of yours by simply saying, “Alexa, what is on my to-do list”. Now the Echo will read out all of the tasks that you have subsequently added to the to-do list. Another version of this particular command is “Alexa, read my to-do list”.

3. Adding Items to Shopping List

Another list that can be easily maintained by Alexa is the shopping list. You can easily add multiple items that you have to buy by simply saying, “Alexa, add milk to my shopping list” and then Alexa will add this item to the shopping list. However, you have to go to the Alexa app in order to check items off from your shopping list.

4. Checking Shopping List

If you wish to know all of the items that are on the shopping list, you can just say, “Alexa, what is on my shopping list?”. Another variation of this particular command is “Alexa, read my shopping list.”

Alexa Commands for Audiobooks

1. Playing Audiobooks from Audible

Audible is actually the audiobook service from Amazon which has a wide collection of various audiobooks that you can easily play through your own Alexa enabled devices. In case you have bought any audiobook from Audible, you can easily ask Alexa to read it to you by simply saying, “Alexa, Play Lord of the Rings on Audible”. You can easily replace “Lord of the Rings” with the name of any other audiobook that you wish to listen.

2. Pausing and Resuming Audiobooks

Audiobooks are often quite long, and in case you wish to pause the audiobook, you can just say, “Alexa, pause” and then Echo will actually pause the audiobook. You can easily resume the audiobook by simply saying, “Alexa, resume”. The best thing is that the Alexa actually remembers where you had stopped the playback the last time when you were listening to an audiobook and then continues to playback from there.

3. Flipping Through Chapters

In case you wish to skip any chapters from your audiobook, you can simply ask Alexa to do so by just saying, “Alexa, next chapter” or just say, “Alexa, previous chapter”.

4. Going to A Specific Chapter Number

In case you wish to skip ahead or even rewind back to any specific chapter, you can just say, “Alexa, go to the chapter number 7” or whichever chapter that you wish to go to.

5. Restarting Your Audiobook

In case you wish Echo to restart the audiobook, you can easily do that too. You just have to say, “Alexa, restart” and then Amazon Echo will subsequently restart the audiobook.

These are the various Alexa commands for listening to an audiobook.

Alexa Commands for Amazon

1. Adding Products to Cart

You can easily ask the Echo to add any product to the Amazon.com cart of yours by just saying, “Alexa, add paper towels to my cart” and replacing “paper towels” with any product that you wish Alexa to add to the cart of yours.

2. Buying Products from Amazon

In case you are a member of Amazon Prime, you can easily buy products directly through your own Echo devices, without actually going through the cart. Just say, “Alexa, buy paper towels”, and then Alexa will assist you in placing the order without you have to go to the website of Amazon.  However, this feature is available only for products which are eligible for Amazon Prime.

Getting Facts and Knowledge

1. Asking About Mountains and Oceans

The different Amazon Echo devices can easily be utilized to gather any sort of information. So, you can also ask the Alexa things like “How tall is Mount K2”, or “How deep is the Atlantic Ocean” and then Alexa will tell you the height as well as the depth, respectively.

2. Asking About Books and Novels

You can also ask the Alexa regarding the authors of books as well as novels. Suppose, you are actually having a camp and wish to know who wrote the “A Game of Thrones”. You can simply say, “Alexa, who wrote A Game of Thrones” and then it will provide you with the answer.

3. Asking About States and Countries

Alexa can even get you information about states and countries. In case you have forgotten the capital city of a particular country, you can easily say, “Alexa, what is the capital of Portugal?”. You can even ask about the entire population by asking, “Alexa, what is the population of Portugal”.

4. Asking About TV Shows and Movies

In case you are watching any TV show or a movie, and you wish to know the name of the director of the movie or the TV show, then you can either Google it or just ask Alexa by simply saying, “Alexa, who is the Director of Pulp Fiction”. You can obviously replace the names with ones that you wish to find out about.

5. Checking Wikipedia Entries

In case you wish, you can even ask Alexa to read out various Wikipedia entries for any topic. You can just say, “Alexa, Wikipedia Texas” and it will subsequently read out the corresponding Wikipedia entry for Texas.

Alexa Commands for Checking Definitions and Spellings

1. Getting Definitions

In case you hear any particular work that you don’t know the actual meaning, then Alexa can help you out. Just say, “Alexa, what is the definition of procrastination”, and it will go on to tell you about the meaning of the word.

2. Finding Spellings

Often, we tend to forget the spellings of different words that we actually know. Alexa can assist in such type of situations. Just say, “Alexa, how do you spell conscious” or whichever word that you wish to know the spelling of.

Math Commands

1. Simple Math

Alexa can even help you with different simple mathematical problems like addition, multiplication etc. You just have to say, “Alexa, what is 4 plus 5?”or “Alexa, what is 4 times 5?”.

2. Advanced Math

It’s not that Alexa can do simple maths. It can even solve various advanced mathematical queries. Just try saying, “Alexa, 50 factorial” and it will tell you the numbers that you have never heard off, for almost a minute.

Translation Commands

1. Translating from English to Another Language

In case you wish to translate any particular sentence from English to any other language, you can just say, “Alexa, translate Good Night to Spanish” and it will easily do it.

2. Translating from Other Languages to English

You can also ask Alexa to translate any sentence from other languages into English by just saying, “Alexa, translate Hola to English”. You can also replace “Hola” with any word or a sentence you wish to translate.

Controlling Various Smart Home Products Through Alexa

1. Finding and connecting smart home devices

Alexa makes it quite easier to connect any of your smart home devices. In case there is any new device that you have recently installed and wish to connect to Alexa, then just say, “Alexa, discover my devices” and then it will find all of the new compatible smart home devices.

2. Controlling lights

Let’s say you have installed compatible smart lights, and you can just ask Alexa to control their different functions. You just have to say, “Alexa, lights on” or even say, “Alexa, turn the bedroom lights on”. Also, you can even say, “Alexa, turn the bedroom lights off” or “Alexa, change the kitchen light to green” and so on.

3. Controlling thermostat

You can even control various compatible thermostats with your own voice. You just have to say, “Alexa, set the temperature to 25” and it will do it exactly.

4. Controlling Locks

Similar to thermostats and lights, you can even control smart locks through Alexa. You just have to say, “Alexa, lock/open the front door” and then it will do it.

5. Controlling Fire TV

It is among the best Alexa commands to easily control Amazon’s Fire TV series of various devices through Alexa. Using Alexa, you can easily search for titles, opening the app and even start playing any favourite show. The best thing is that Alexa actually remembers where you have left off and then start playing the show or the move from right there. You just have to say, “Alexa, play <insert name here>” and it will do that. You can even say, “Alexa, open Netflix”, and then it will easily launch the app.

You can even ask deeper questions. For instance, you can ask, “Alexa, show me the movies starring Rachel Weisz” and it will show all of the movies in its own catalogue which starts the said actress or actor. You can even switch to previous/next episode by simply saying, “Alexa, play previous/next episode”.

Alexa Skills

Along with the various commands that we have mentioned above, Alexa does come with a complete set of various skills that allows it to perform different amazing and complex things. Some of the best Alexa skills are as follows:

1. Playing games and quizzes

One of the best time pass things that you can do with Alexa is playing games. Whenever you wish to spend some time entertaining yourself, you can play a round of quiz or trivia or anything else that you wish to do. Some of the various commands to play quizzes and games are:

1. “Alexa, play Twenty Questions”.
2. “Alexa, open the Magic Door”.
3. “Alexa, start Song Quiz”.
4. “Alexa, ask Question of the Day”.
5. “Alexa, play Jeopardy”.
6. Going back to school skills

You can go back to various school skills to learn new stuff in the very small amount of time that you have. You can easily learn math, vocabulary, geography and much more. Here are few of the Alexa commands that you can use:

1. “Alexa, ask SAT Word of the Day what’s the today’s word”.
2. “Alexa, play Geo Quiz”.
3. “Alexa, play Word of the Day Quiz”.
4. “Alexa, start Amazon Math”.
5. “Alexa, Start Vocabulary Builder”.
6. Focus and Meditation skills

Another great thing that you can ask Alexa to do is to play focus or meditational music. You can use this skill whenever you are working on any project and don’t wish to be disturbed by various noises around you. Here are few commands that you can easily use:

1. “Alexa, play Rainforest Sounds”.
2. “Alexa, open Meditation Timer for 5 minutes.”
3. “Alexa, play white noise”.
4. Checking emails with Cortana

In case your office utilizes Microsoft Exchange account, then you can easily check all of your emails by simply using the combination of Alexa as well as Cortana, which is the voice assistant from Microsoft. In order to use Cortana, you need to start with “Alexa, open Cortana” and then just say, “What new emails do I have?”. You can even use this particular skill to add various things to exchange calendar of yours or the to-do lists by using:

1. “Alexa, open Cortana” and then say, “What is on my calendar for today?”.
2. “Alexa, get me Cortana” and then say, “Add order pens to my to-do list”.
3. Getting the news

Alexa also integrates with different news sources that include The New York Times, BBC News, The Wall Street Journal and many more. You can even ask any of these particular sources to play the news for you. Just say any of the given commands:

1. “Alexa, what is in the news?”.
2. “Alexa, what is my Flash Briefing?”.
3. “Alexa, what is on BBC?”.
4. Learning Greek mythology

It is among the best Alexa commands. It is quite interesting to know the mythical stories of different cultures and even learn little nuggets of information regarding Greek Mythology. In case you wish to use this particular skill, you just have to say, “Alexa, open knowledge of the gods” and then it will start asking various questions which are based on Greek Mythology. Answer wrongly or correctly, you will definitely learn something new.

7. Announcements

The announcement skill of Alexa is quite a great way to easily let everyone in your home know the same fact. Whenever you are using this features, each and every Echo device in the home announces the same message. For instance, if you wish to announce that the dinner is ready to be eaten then you can simply say, “Alexa, announce that dinner’s ready”. Few of the alternative commands are:

1. “Alexa, announce that we are ordering Italian today”.
2. “Alexa, broadcast that we are leaving in ten minutes”.

Utilizing Alexa Skill Blueprints

Among the latest addition to the skillset of Alexa is the ability to easily create your own different Alexa Skills through Blueprints. Just log in with your own Amazon account and start creating it. Here are different examples of Alexa skills that you can easily create. Some of the best Blueprint skills are:

1. Playing a Host

In case you are always the hosting guests at your own home, then you can easily create a great skill called houseguest and then enter various generic questions as well as answers that your guests often ask. For instance, you can easily create questions for your TV remotes, Wi-Fi password, the location of appliances and many more. Once you have actually set up the particular skill, then any house guest can easily access them by simply saying, “Alexa, open my Houseguest Guide” and then they can start asking the relevant questions.

2. Creating your personal sidekick

With the help of Alexa Blueprints, you can easily create your own personal sidekick that will always tell you the various answers that you have already entered into the system. In order to access this sidekick, you only have to say, “Alexa, open My Bestie”.

3. Creating adventure stories for children

It is among the best skills for any parent. With this particular skill, you can easily create an adventure story for your children where they are the actual heroes. Just start the skill by simply saying, “Alexa, open My Adventure Story”. After this, Alexa will go on to ask the names of villains and heroes. Just answer the name of the child as a hero and whatever the name of the villain you want. They say, “Alexa, tell me the story”. This will result in Alexa reciting a short story with the children as hero characters.

4. Creating flashcards

Alexa can even help you in preparation for tests. Just create your own audio flashcards by simply entering the questions as well as answers and whenever you wish to be tested, just say, “Alexa, open My Flashcards”.

5. Curating a list of favourite quotes

You can easily use Alexa Blueprints in order to create an entire curate list of your own favourite quotes. Just add all of your favourite quotes and then give this skill a name. Whenever you wish to listen to all of your favourite quotes, simply say, “Alexa, open <skill name>” and then it will continue reading all of your favourite quotes.

Special Skills for Echo Show

Amazon has launched a special Amazon Echo device which has an inbuilt screen. This device is rightly named as Echo Show which is among the best smart device that is Alexa enabled that you can own. As it has its own screen, it can easily do more than what the normal Alexa speakers can do. Here are few of the unique Alexa commands that you can utilize with Echo Show.

1. Getting showtimes with Fandango

When you ask the Alexa for any movie title or even a TV show on an Alexa-enabled device, using this particular feature on Amazon Echo show, it shows way better since it shows all of the movies as well as theatres in the nearby region. You can simply swipe through various movies that you wish to see and what is actually playing and even buy tickets from the Echo Show directly given that you have your own Fandango VIP account. In order to invoke this particular skills, you just have to say the following commands:

1. “Alexa, Ask Fandango what is playing at the nearby theatre”.
2. “Alexa, Open Fandango”.
3. “Alexa, Ask Fandango to search for <movie name>”.

2. Watching gameplay with Twitch

As Twitch is owned by Amazon too, you can easily stream any of your favourite gameplays directly on the Amazon Echo Show. Simple use the following Alexa commands:

1. “Alexa, open Twitch”.
2. “Alexa, ask Twitch to play Ninja”.
3. “Alexa, ask Twitch for followed channels”.

3. Getting recipes with Allrecipes

Among the best Amazon Echo Show based skills is its inherent ability to view recipes from the Allrecipes website. This website hosts over 60,000 recipes for various home-cooked meals and you can easily use any of these recipes that you wish on your Amazon Echo Show. All you have to do is simply say these Alexa commands:

1. “Alexa, open Allrecipes”.
2. “Alexa, ask Allrecipes for a recipe with bacon, chicken and broccoli”.
3. “Alexa, ask Allrecipes for the <dish name> recipe”.

4. Checking smart camera feeds

In case you are utilizing any smart camera like Ring Doorbell or Nest cameras, you can easily use Alexa in order to see its feed directly on your own Amazon Echo Show. You only have to say, “Alexa, show my backyard camera” or even say, “Alexa, who is at the front door” and then it will directly stream the camera feeds.

5. Making Video Calls

It also allows you to easily make video calls to any other Echo Show device. Just sync all of your contacts in your Alexa app and then ask Alexa to call any of the contacts by their name. If that particular contact has an Amazon Echo Show then the call will become default to video call automatically.

6. Using Drop In

Drop In is among the most useful while being an optional feature that assists you to connect hands-free instantly. While Drop In actually works with all of the Alexa enabled speakers, you can also find it quite useful for the purpose of making video calls. All you have to say, “Alexa, Drop In on the Echo Show” or “Alexa, Drop In on the Kitchen” and then it will easily connect to that particular device automatically. You can also give Drop In permission to any of your family member or even your close friends so that they can easily contact you at any particular time they want to.

Conclusion

While all these Alexa commands are quite useful for you, you will be now able to use your own Amazon Echo devices in quite an efficient way. Use these commands and then let us know which one is your own favourite by writing in the comments section. Also, share any thoughts about these commands that you have. You can also share any useful command that you think we should include in this list.