Thanks to the Alexa platform, you can easily enhance your Amazon Echo’s capabilities through Alexa Skills. All you have to do is say “Alexa, enable [skill name]” and you’re set, providing you know what you want to add. Alternatively, you can open the Alexa app on your phone, tap the menu button and pick various skills from the list. Or, you can simply browse Alexa’s Skills website. In an instant, you have improved the virtual assistant and made your life a teensy bit easier.
Alexa is as smash hit for Amazon primarily due to its line of Echo bluetooth speakers and vice versa. The pairing works so well that companies are rushing developers to create their own skill, which is why there are more than 10,000 of them and constantly rising. Granted, a good part of them is garbage, which is why we have done the work for you. In this article, we’ll present some of the best Alexa skills to complement your Alexa-powered device. Enjoy.
Dictate SMS
SMS With Molly is the skill that allows you to text your friends and family hands-free. You’ll need to register on the company’s website before you add your contacts and start dictating. Then, just say, “Alexa, ask SMS with Molly to send ‘[message content] to [contact name].” You can send 30 messages per month for free.
Alexa can start your car
Using the Blue Link skill, you can start select models from Hyundai remotely, as well as lock and unlock the doors, turn on the horn and lights, change the interior temperature and more. Ford will soon join the fold, possibly along with a few other automakers.
Alexa can order an Uber or Lyft
Both Lyft and Uber, two of the most popular ride-hailing services, have skills you can add to Alexa. Once you provide all the necessary account information and add a payment method, say “Alexa, ask Lyft/Uber to request a ride.” There is also an option to check the amount of fare for a certain distance.
Plan a vacation with Kayak
If you have a Kayak account, you can activate the skill on Alexa and jump-start your vacation planning. Receive real-time track flight updates and check prices on flights, hotels and rental cars. You can even tell Alexa your travel budget and it will tell you where you can go in the world. To activate this particularly handy feature, just say “Alexa, ask Kayak where I can go for $700,” for instance.
Alexa smart home management
This is such a vast category that we’ll try to keep it as simple as possible. Counting you have the appropriate smart device, with Alexa, you can control your lights, switches, dimmers, outlets, thermostats, door locks and more. Companies like Wemo, Samsung SmartThings, Lutron, Control4, Nest and others have a bundle of features in one skill which makes things easier. Additionally, there are other devices like Neato Botvac Connected robot vacuum that effortlessly clean your home and Logitech Harmony Elite universal remotes that can turn on your entertainment center, be it a TV, cable box, stereo or something else.
Translate from English
The Translated skill supports 36 different languages you can use to translate from English only. Say “Alexa, ask Translated how do you say how are you in Japanese”, for instance, and the assistant will read out the translation, as well as send it to the app.
Get recipe ideas
We’re sticking with food-related skills with a couple of recipe skills. The first one is Allrecipes that has over 60,000 of recipes found on its website. Using your voice, Alexa quickly finds recipes that match your preference: desired dish type, ingredients you have at your disposal, cooking time, cooking method and so on. For the daily recipe, say “Alexa, ask Allrecipes for the recipe of the day” or ask for a specific ingredient-based meal by saying “Alexa, ask Allrecipes what can I make with chicken, bacon and cheddar cheese,” for instance.
Campbell’s Kitchen is one of the most popular recipe services all around. The skill offers a Top-5 list of recipes on a daily basis and sends the ingredients and directions to Alexa after you pick one recipe. For the daily list, ask “Alexa, ask Campbell’s Kitchen for today’s top five recipes” or if you are looking for something random, say “Alexa, ask Campbell’s Kitchen for a recipe.”
Alexa can choose the right wine
For the wine connoisseurs among you, MySomm offers hundreds of recommendations based on what you are about to eat, pairing the type of wine accordingly. This is clearly targeting wine enthusiasts only but is rather interesting to see what best fits with a prime rib, specific kind of cheese, pizza and so on.
Order pizza
Speaking of food and pizza, Alexa can order you one from Domino’s or Pizza Hut. In each case, you’ll need to have an account with the delivery address and payment method. For Domino’s, you need an Easy Order or a recent order saved within your Pizza Profile for the skill to work. It also offers live tracking of your order.
Get a workout
After a fine meal, you may want to shed some extra calories. One way to do that with Alexa’s help is by using the 7-Minute Workout skill. It features a set of exercises designed to increase metabolism, improve energy, lower stress, of course, remove fat. To start, say “Alexa, start 7-Minute Workout”’ and you will go through the entire set. You can take a break but be sure to let Alexa know so you can continue where you left off.
Check for hacking and data breach
This rather useful skill is the courtesy of security professional Troy Hunt, the man behind the Have I been pwned? website. With the same-named skill, you can check if you have an account that has been compromised in a data breach. To use the skill, say “Alexa, open Have I been pawned” and carefully spell out an email address or username you wish to check.
Check stock prices
Since stocks use abbreviations and symbols for company names, a lot of skills have a problem correctly identifying the one you request. However, with Opening Bell, there is no such issue as the skill uses the company’s real name. To check the price of a stock, say “Alexa, ask Opening Bell for [company name]” and you’re set. The skill uses data from Markit On Demand.
Order flowers
You can order a bouquet for your significant other through 1-800-Flowers skill. Naturally, you need to have the account with the service. Simply choose the floral arrangement style, arrangement size, and delivery date. Just say “Alexa, tell 1-800-Flowers to send flowers to [contact name]” and they’ll be on their way pretty soon.
Play games
There are loads of good games you can enable. From trivia games like Jeopardy to countless skills about various facts to classics like Twenty Questions, Tic Tac Toe, and Bingo to games like Animal Game (Alexa guesses the animal by asking you yes or no question) and The Magic Door (an interactive adventure) and hundreds of others. Check the Games, Trivia & Accessories section in the Alexa app if you want to kill some serious time.
Check board game rules
While we are on the subject of games, this one is just too cool not to mention. There is actually a skill called Board Games Answers that provides you with rules from several board games. For example, say “Alexa, ask Board Games how many people can play Monopoly” and you’ll quickly find out it’s seven. No, six. Maybe eight? We don’t know but we know whom to ask.
New Alexa Skills:
Alexa Exercise Skills
One of the best, more recent Alexa skills is the Exercise Skill. This skill can run you through a variety of workouts, from intense fat burning to a quick stretch, just like a personal trainer or a class at the gym would.
The Bartender Skill
The Bartender is an Alexa Skill that does exactly what you think – it teaches you to make drinks! You can tell Alexa what types of alcohol and mixers you have on hand, and *poof*, out come a slew of options and step-by-step instructions on how to make them. Cheers!
Closing words
Remember, this is only a small part of the overall number of Alexa skills. As Amazon is expanding Alexa’s reach beyond the confines of a small number of devices, companies are following closely by. They are trying to jump on the bandwagon and enhance the personal assistant with their service. There will be even more skills as time goes by so you might as well use that to your advantage and make Alexa smarter along the way.