By Rita Deutschbein and Marlene Polywka | October 27, 2023, 4:11 p.m
Voice assistants have answers to many questions and can also be useful in the home. But what should you actually ask them and which commands are appropriate? TECHBOOK has put together a list of important commands and questions for Amazon Alexa.
There are now many smart speakers – whether with Siri from Apple, with the Google Assistant or Alexa from Amazon. There are numerous generations and different models of the Amazon Echo in particular. The speakers come either as a compact Echo Dot, as a bass-rich Echo Studio, with a screen or as a Kids Edition. Amazon even has a version for cars. Alexa can answer trivia questions, set timers and even place online orders on demand. But all voice assistants have a common problem: you are never really sure what you can ask – after all, there is no menu that shows you the commands. That’s why TECHBOOK has put together the most useful commands and questions for Amazon Alexa that you should definitely try out.
General commands
The commands mentioned here are very general and many will know them. They essentially form the basis for queries to Amazon Alexa, which is why we list them together for a better overview:
Alexa, good morning! Alexa, stop! Alexa, what’s the weather like? Alexa, louder. Alexa, quieter. Alexa, continue. Alexa, set an alarm for [Zeit].
Also read: How to set up the Amazon Echo correctly
Knowledge questions
Basically, you can ask Alexa anything. You will quickly notice which questions the voice assistant has an answer to. Basically anything that has some relevance. This ranges from spelling a word to the publication date of the first Harry Potter volume to explaining mathematical formulas. Alexa can also translate words into different languages if desired.
The general rule is: asking doesn’t cost anything. Just try! Alternatively, there is a wiki skill that reads out Wikipedia entries after activation. We have put together some examples of knowledge questions:
Alexa, translate [XYZ] in Italian. Alexa, who is [Name einer bekannten Person]? Alexa, how high is it? [Gebäude, Berg, …]? Alexa, how far is it from [Stadt 1] bis [Stadt 2]? Alexa, what’s wrong? [Gegenstand]? Alexa, how old is [Person]? Alexa, spell [Wort]. Alexa, what is the capital of [Land]? Alexa, when does the sun rise? Alexa, what is the root of? [Zahl]? Alexa, what will the weather be like on? [Tag]?
Also interesting: This is what the ring colors mean on Amazon Alexa
In the kitchen
Alexa can also be very practical in the kitchen, for example if you have groceries and household products delivered to your home via Amazon. Because if your hand isn’t free, you can fill your shopping list or order something directly via Alexa. Alexa can also replace the classic egg timer and even run several timers in parallel. With the help of various skills, Alexa even supports cooking by reading recipes out loud, converting quantities or repeating work steps on demand.
For example, say to Alexa:
Alexa, set a timer [Zahl] minutes. Alexa, write [Produkt] on my shopping list. Alexa, order [Produkt]. Alexa, sit [XYZ] on my to-do list. Alexa, how long did it take? [Name eines Geschäfts] in [Ort] open today? Alexa, show me please [Rezept]. (requires an Amazon Echo Show)
Also read: Deactivate the ordering function on the Amazon Echo
Music and film
With Amazon’s voice assistant you can of course also play music and control it by voice. This not only works in conjunction with Amazon Prime Music and Music Unlimited, but also with Spotify, Apple Music, Apple Podcasts, Deezer and the radio streaming service TuneIn. If you have a Spotify premium account, you can connect it via the Alexa app and access the entire music library and playlists. Alexa can also help you find a suitable film and a screening in the cinema.
Alexa, play music from [Interpret]. Alexa, play the album [Album] von [Interpret]. Alexa, what am I listening to? Alexa, stop playing music in [Zahl] minutes. Alexa, next song. Alexa, play music for your workout! Alexa, play music [Musikrichtung]. Alexa, play [Musikrichtung] from the [Jahrzehnt]. Alexa, when is it on? [Filmtitel] in [Stadt]? Alexa, what movies are playing? [Stadt] in the cinema? Alexa, what rating [Film] on IMDb?
The in-house music streaming service Amazon Music also enables song recognition based on the lyrics.
Alexa, play music to the text [Textbeispiel: Atemlos durch die Nacht].
Also interesting: 7 major music streaming services in comparison
Sports results and news
Alexa can also deliver the daily dose of news and sports via question. Even the Bundesliga is there. Alexa delivers current results and, for Amazon Prime customers, the Bundesliga live or in the conference.
Alexa, what is the score of [Mannschaft]? Alexa, how’s the game going? [Mannschaft]? Alexa, when is the next game? [Mannschaft]? Alexa, which place in the table is [Mannschaft]? With Prime subscription: Alexa, play [Mannschaft 1] against [Mannschaft 2].
If you would rather hear current news instead of sports results, you can ask Alexa for a daily news summary. You decide for yourself which sources Alexa relies on: In the Alexa app on your smartphone, you simply subscribe to the appropriate mini apps – Amazon calls them “skills” – from news media.
Alexa, what is my daily summary?
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Smart Home
If you have equipped your own four walls with smart lamps or thermostats, you can in many cases control them directly with Alexa. The popular Philips Hue lamps, for example, are compatible with Alexa.
Alexa, turn on the lights [Raum] on off. Alexa, turn on the lights [Raum] on [Zahl] Percent brightness. Alexa, set the temperature [Raum] on [Zahl] Grad.
Communication
You can also use Echo devices to send messages or make phone calls. For most of the following commands, however, you must have the Alexa app installed on your smartphone and grant it access to various apps.
Alexa, send [Name des Kontakts] a voice message. Alexa, start a drop-in. Alexa, call [Name des Kontakts] at. Alexa, turn the camera/microphone on/off. Alexa, call [Name] an.
Traffic
If you ask, Alexa will give you up-to-date information about the traffic situation. This means you can decide straight away in the morning whether you would rather go by car, train or bike.
Alexa, how’s the traffic? Alexa, what’s my route to work?
Shopping
You can use Alexa to order products from Amazon. Since the assistant is linked to your Amazon account, you do not need to enter addresses or payment options.
Alexa, order [Produktname]. Alexa, order again [Produktname]. Alexa, add [Produktname] to my shopping cart. Alexa, track my order.
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silliness
In addition to a number of practical commands, Alexa can also do more or less funny jokes with which you can pass the time.
Alexa, are there UFOs? Alexa, self-destruct. Alexa, high five! Alexa, what’s the magic word? Alexa, I’m your father. Alexa, make me a sandwich. Alexa, can you beatbox? Alexa, test 1, 2, 3. Alexa, what do you think of Siri? Alexa, Palim Palim!
Or you can simply ask Alexa if she can tell you a joke. However, the voice assistant’s humor is not to everyone’s taste…