So you were looking for what to ask Alexa ? These are the most curious questions to ask Alexa to snatch a smile with friends.
On the web, many influencers have enjoyed comparing voice assistants, between the jokes of Google and the seriousness of Siri there is no doubt that Alexa gives both opponents a hard time . Obviously, each voice assistant has a different algorithm and it is essential to understand how it works in order to exploit its full potential.
But what to ask Alexa during daily use? In many cases, you focus on basic commands and forget how useful voice assistants can be even in more productive tasks.
In the next lines we will try to investigate deeper into the algorithm of the Amazon voice assistant and we will try to teach you first the basics and then the most interesting commands of this software. Ready to discover new information to put your voice assistant under stress? If the answer is yes, let’s get started.
Read also: How to connect led lights to Alexa
Index
- Preliminary information
- Getting started with Alexa
- What to ask Alexa if you want to have fun with friends
- Alexa Amazon Music voice commands
- Fun-related questions to ask Alexa
- Alexa tell me a story
- Things not to ask Alexa
- What are Alexa Skills
- Alexa skill list not to be missed
- Alexa does not respond to voice commands
- Another 30 curious questions to ask Alexa to make friends smile
Preliminary information
Before starting, we recommend that you check that the latest version of Amazon’s personal intelligent assistant is installed on your device, be it an Echo or a smartphone . Some features have only recently been implemented and we don’t want you to miss out on the best for just outdated software.
Getting started with Alexa
From a technical point of view, the Alexa features are nine:
- Play music.
- Inform about weather and traffic.
- Buy on Amazon
- Manage appointments and reminders.
- To play.
- Play news of the day.
- Make calls.
- Control smart devices.
- Answering in-depth questions.
Thanks to the high quality integrated microphones you can ask for information on all these categories with your voice, obviously being careful to exclaim as the first word ” Alexa “, the software is activated only in this way or through direct commands from a smartphone.
In a next section we will deal with topics that cannot be asked from Alexa; therefore, we recommend that you read the guide to the end.
But what are the basic commands that you absolutely need to know to use your device to the fullest? It may sound strange to you, but Alexa acts just like a little guide even when you don’t know what to ask the program. The most used commands, in fact, are:
- Alexa, what can I askor stop / stop / silence.
But in addition to these basic commands you must know that one of the most important actions to take as soon as you install Alexa is to teach the software to recognize your voice . For you to do this you can exclaim the phrase:
Alexa learn my voice or do it manually by going to More> Settings> Your profile > and then choosing the My voice option , to create a voice profile.
In the manual they explain very well how to turn the volume up or down, just ask Alexa: turn the volume up / down by saying her name first.
What to ask Alexa if you want to have fun with friends
Alexa is particularly suitable for fun, the Italian influencers have gone wild in asking the Amazon home voice assistant any kind of question. Obviously with friends the funniest activities are those related to music or games, but you must not exclude the possibility of using Alexa also to inform them and remove some doubts about a discussion whose end is not in sight.
But what are the things to ask Alexa and the most interesting predefined commands? Let’s see them by category: music , entertainment , stories .
Alexa Amazon Music voice commands
With friends it’s always nice to listen to music and thanks to the integration with Amazon Music or Spotify you can create a real party. To start a song whose title you already know, just say the phrase: Alexa start -title of the song- on Spotify (or without this last word, Alexa will find it in the Amazon Music catalog) . Or you can ask the voice assistant to sing a song directly with the command: Alexa, sing a rap (or other) song . Laughter will not be lacking and you can have a great time. For more information on the subject you can read our guide on how to connect Alexa with Spotify .
Fun-related questions to ask Alexa
We recommend that you use the controls for fun for an unforgettable evening with friends. Specifically, you can’t avoid saying:
- Tell me a tongue twister.
- What is the meaning of life.
- Will you marry me?
- When will I die?
- Who is your father?
- Plays the guitar.
- How are you?
Alexa tell me a story
The Alexa database is very large, it will be able to tell you a story or a joke without a shot being hurt. The most popular commands are:
- Tell the Ugly Duckling.
- Tell a fairy tale.
- Tell me a story.
- Open good night story.
Things not to ask Alexa
When communicating with Alexa it is advisable to stay in the categories we have listed above. Although the voice assistant has the ability to answer all the questions in the database, some topics Amazon has preferred to eliminate or limit them.
In particular, the taboo topics appear to be: sex , dark web , Google , illicit searches and banking transactions .
Gender : Alexa, besides the definition, will hardly go too far in talking to you about this topic. The software is also used by children, and Amazon has a very careful policy for the little ones.
Dark Web : topic censored even on search engines is practically non-existent on Alexa; therefore, it will be useless for you to try to ask for something.
Google : in recent months, phrases have been included that allow you to interact between Google Assistant and Alexa, but it is a topic on which you will hardly find answers from the Amazon product.
Illegal searches : You will not be able to ask Alexa how to perform illegal actions. If you were planning to design a plan like The Paper House, Alexa won’t be able to help you.
Bank Transactions : You won’t be able to ask Alexa to make a payment from your bank account on third-party sites. Alexa, in fact, can buy directly from Amazon with your account but not on other platforms. So don’t ask her to buy anything on eBay because she’ll pretend she doesn’t understand.
What are Alexa Skills
You may have never heard of Alexa Skills , but they can be very useful during the day for your activities. First of all, let’s define it: Alexa Skills are defined as those applications that are activated by voice but which are created by third parties .
You will surely have noticed how the Amazon ecosystem tries to automate its devices in an optimal way, while with third-party sources there is the need to carry out a few more steps. Thanks to Alexa Skills you can exploit the potential of other applications directly with voice commands. Of course you need full compatibility between software for exemplary operation.
Among the most famous apps that need Alexa Skills to work are Spotify , Sky TG24 and Rai GR1 . But how to activate them on your Alexa device? The procedure is really very simple, let’s see the steps to follow.
First, make sure you have installed the Amazon Alexa application for Android or iOS on your smartphone . If it is already present, start it and enter the main menu. From here, just tap on the Other item and then select the Skills and games section .
Then search for the Skill you want to add by pressing on the magnifying glass icon . Once identified, click on it and start the activation request by pressing Enable to use .
You can also do it directly from the Amazon Store , by purchasing it (free or paid) and activating it on your profile first and then on your device. Of course don’t forget to give microphone permissions on your smartphone , many users have wasted hours figuring out where the problem was, but it was just a trivia. On this last point, I also invite you to take all precautions and read the guide: How to disable smartphone microphone .
Alexa skill list not to be missed
- Goodnight Nursery Rhymes (Giunti Editore)
- Exercises on the multiplication tables
- Relaxing Sounds (for ambient noises)
- Radio Lattemiele horoscope with Paolo Fox
- Open Pharmacies
- iMamma
- My well-being
- Trenitalia
- Garbage collection
- iRobot Home (check the Roomba)
- SmartThings (controls Samsung connected devices)
Read also: How to create Alexa skills
Alexa does not respond to voice commands
Problems are rarely encountered in configuring Amazon Alexa, precisely because of its ease of use. In case you notice difficulties on the part of Amazon’s voice assistant to understand what you are saying with your Echo, such as when you are offline, the causes may be different, let’s see them together.
Alexa is not responding : the first thing to do is to restart the device. Then check that there are no obstacles or noisy appliances in the vicinity, such as washing machine, air conditioner or other. If so, approach the Echo and repeat the command.
Power and Internet Connection : An unplugged Echo and any Wi-Fi connection problems are the most common causes of why the voice assistant ignores you. If the Alexa ring is red what you can do is restart the router and the smart speaker. If that doesn’t fix the problem, try moving the Echo closer to the router or checking for interference from other devices. A sure test is to check if the Wi-Fi connection works on the other devices: smarpthone or PC.
Make sure your device’s microphone is on : If you have a solid red ring or bar, instead of a solid blue, press the microphone button on the top of the device to turn it back on. See if Alexa is now responding to your commands.
Check that your smartphone and Echo are on the same Wi-Fi network : If your smartphone and the Amazon Alexa app are on a different Wi-Fi network than your Echo, then the Echo will not be able to respond.
Check the voice command you are using : if you do not speak clearly, the Amazon smart assistant may not understand you, also if you have installed skills and services, check that the voice command is correct. Skills sometimes require specific commands and you may need to change your sentence.
Bring the Echo device closer to the router : try to bring the Echo closer to the router and give the voice command again.
Reboot Alexa-enabled Device : A simple reboot of the device should fix all of Amazon’s voice assistant non-response issues.
Reset the speaker to factory settings : If you haven’t solved the problem yet, try resetting your Alexa-enabled device to factory settings.
Another 30 curious questions to ask Alexa to make friends smile
- Can you bark?
- Tell me a joke.
- You can talk like Yoda.
- Am I your father?
- What do you think of Cortana?
- Give me a kiss.
- Do you want to marry me?
- Can you lend me some solids?
- I have 99 problems.
- What do you want to be?
- What happens if you step on a LEGO?
- Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar?
- I’m right?
- You are my girlfriend?
- How are babies born?
- Who is the most beautiful of all?
- Do you have pets?
- What is the value of Pi?
- What’s your weight?
- What is your favorite princess?
- How are you?
- How was your day?
- Can you tell me a joke about Star Wars?
- My name is Inigo Montoya
- What does the Fox says?
- Do you sing a song?
- High five.
- Who is your favorite avengers?
- Teleport me!