Alexa enjoys a welcome new upgrade you’ll use every day

Alexa – the chatty assistant that powers the best-selling Amazon Echo, Echo Show, and Fire TV – can now support multiple phrases to trigger your custom routines. Alexa Routines allow users to string together a number of common tasks. So you can have a single phrase – “good morning” – switch on a number of smart lightbulbs, kickstart the central heating, and turn on the kettle, for example.

Until now, Alexa Routines could only be triggered by a single phrase. However, the latest update brings the ability to chose multiple phrases. So, if you have a routine that turns off lighting, appliances, and heating at the end of the day, you’ll be able to pick from multiple trigger phrases, including “good night”, “it’s bedtime”, or “night night”.

For multilingual households, the latest update means you’ll be able to add similar phrases in multiple languages, so that everyone can take advantage of the Alexa Routine, regardless of their mother tongue.

Up to seven custom phrases can be set for each Alexa Routine. As always, Alexa Routines can be set-up and edited inside the Alexa companion app, which is available on iPhone, Android, and the website alexa.amazon.co.uk.

Granted, the latest update is a small tweak, but an important one. For those who want to get more out of their hands-free smart assistant, Alexa Routines offer a way to unlock more utility from the chatty smart speaker. As you add more connected devices to your home, Alexa Routines become more helpful – and the latest change means you won’t have to remember a single phrase.

The update comes a few days after Amazon added a number of new phrases around the Olympics in Tokyo, so Amazon Echo smart speaker owners can quickly find out the latest results, the number of gold medals collected by each country, and more.

If you have an Echo and fancy using it to get your daily Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games updates then here are some things to try:

• “Alexa, what’s the Olympics update?”
• “Alexa, what’s the Paralympics update?”
• “Alexa, what’s Team GB’s Olympics update?”
• “Alexa, what’s Team Ireland’s Olympics update?”
• “Alexa, what’s Team Ireland’s Paralympics update?”
• “Alexa, which country has the most gold meals?”
• “Alexa, what’s Team GB’s medal count?”
• “Alexa, what’s Team Ireland’s medal count?”
• “Alexa, who is the athlete of the day?”