Alexa is a voice-controlled personal assistant found on Amazon Echo smart speakers and other smart home devices. You can even use the Alexa app on Android and iOS to make the most out of Amazon’s voice assistant.
Alexa can do a wide range of things like controlling smart home devices. Order stuffs online, play games, etc. What’s more interesting is that Amazon lets you add third-party skills to fit your needs.
What are Alexa Skills?
Well, Alexa Skills are just like apps. You can manually enable or disable skills using the Alexa app or from the web browser. You can add skills to your Amazon Echo devices to do many things.
As of now, there are over 100,000+ Alexa skills available. They were voice-driven and let you do different things like reading stories, playing voice games, etc. You can enable these skills to bring products and various services to life.
What are the best Alexa Skills?
As we have mentioned above, there are over 100,000+ Skills available for Alexa. Every skill was unique in its own way. Since everyone’s needs are different, it isn’t easy to rank the Alexa skills.
Therefore, in this article, we have decided to share a list of the best Alexa skills that stands out from the crowd. These skills were most popular and used by thousands of users. So, let’s check out the best Alexa skills.
Also Read: How to Add Third-Party App Shortcuts to Google Assistant
How to Use Alexa’s Skills?
You need to enable the skills manually. To enable the skills, you need to open the Alexa App and head to the Skills & Games > Discover > Categories. Browse the skills by categories and tap on the ‘Enable to use’ to enable the skill.
On the Skill Permissions page, select the checkboxes for the skill request. Once done, tap on the ‘Save Permissions’ button. The new skill will be enabled; speak the skill command to start the skill.
You can also locate the skills by using the commands given below. Just copy & paste the commands on the Skills & games page and hit the search button.
Alternatively, you can say, “Alexa, enable [skill name]” to enable any particular skill.
List of 15 Best Alexa Skills/Command to use
Below, we have shared some of the best Alexa skills you can use today. Let’s check out.
“Alexa, open Headspace.”
If you have a Headspace account, you can use the above skill to get guided meditation techniques, create conditions for a better night’s sleep, etc. Just say the above command, and Alexa will open the Headspace services.
“Alexa, Inspire Me”
Are you feeling low and looking for a source of inspiration? If yes, then you need to use this skill. The skill plays inspirational tidbits from famous speakers from all across the world.
“Alexa, open Rain Sounds.”
This one plays sleep sounds and ambient sounds to help you relax, meditate, and relieve stress. This skill is a part of the Sleep Jar family of skills currently used by millions of users.
“Alexa, open Big Sky.”
This one speaks out the hour-by-hour weather forecast of your local area. The great thing is that Big Sky uses the dark sky’s API to provide you the weather reports.
Dark Sky API is used by many popular Android & iOS weather apps for those who don’t know.
“Alexa, start 7-Minute Workout.”
Not many would know, but Alexa can also help you lose some weight. If integrated with a 7-minute workout, Alexa can guide you through the different exercises. The skill is free to enable, but few in-skill purchases unlock the full potential of the service.
“Alexa, ask Flight Tracker for [flight]”
Are you looking for an Alexa skill to get the latest flight status? If yes, then you need to give Flight Tracker a try.
The skill is free to enable, and all you need is the airline name and the flight number to hear the voice updates on any flight.
“Alexa, ask Question of the Day.”
The Question of the day service poses a new trivia question for you every day. The questions range from arts to entertainment to literature and science.
As you answer the questions, you get points. You can use the points to compete against other users.
“Alexa, ask Pikachu to talk.”
Are you a huge Pokemon fan? If yes, then you will love this Alexa skill for sure. The skill lets you talk to Pikachu about anything. Once enabled, you can ask Pikachu to use thunderbolt, sing you happy birthday, etc.
“Alexa, open WebMD.”
If you are searching for an Alexa skill that can answer all your health-related questions, then you need to use WebMD.
With this skill, you can know the side effects of any particular drug, know their benefits, know the usage. You can also ask about the symptoms, treatments, and causes of any health condition.
“Alexa, Find My Phone”
Alexa can also help you locate your lost smartphone. With the Find My Phone service, you can easily call your lost phone from Alexa.
It requires a short setup while enabling the skill. Once done with the setup, you can ring your smartphone even if it’s on Do Not Disturb Mode.
“Alexa, open Akinator.”
It’s a classic guessing game where you have to select a character, and Alexa would try to guess who you’re thinking of.
To guess the character, Alexa would ask you a series of questions. You need to reply with ‘Yes’ or ‘No.’ So, it’s a fun game to play with Amazon Alexa.
“Alexa, open Math Mountain.”
Math Mountain is one of the best Alexa skills that students can have. The Alexa skill helps you to hone mathematical skills.
It’s a game where you need to solve 7 maths questions to reach Math Mountain’s summit. As you climb the mountain, the questions get tougher.
“Alexa, open Healthy Habit.”
Healthy Habit by Pau Maximus Solutions is a simple skill that helps you adopt healthy habits into your life.
Each time you access the skill, Healthy Habit provides a health-conscious suggestion.
“Alexa, give me my sports update.”
You need to open the Alexa App, head to the Settings > Sports Update. Under the Sports update, search and save the teams that you want to follow. Once done, use the skill ‘Alexa, give me my sports update,’ and Alexa will give you the sport details like current score, upcoming schedules, etc.
“Alexa, ask TED Talks for something funny.”
Alexa can also play inspiring talks and ideas of world-renowned speakers for you. You can use the TED Talk service to play random TED talks, the latest TED talks, or search for topics. You can also ask Alexa to play talks that are inspiring, persuasive, funny, etc.
“Alexa, open best recipes.”
Best Recipes is one of the best Alexa skills you can use today. Unlike others, it doesn’t suggest random recipes. Instead, it suggests the recipes based on what ingredients you already have.
“Alexa, play [Song Name]”
To use this service, you need to enable the music services first like Saavn, Amazon Prime, TuneIn, etc. Once enabled, you can ask Alexa to play any song. You can also use commands like ‘Alexa, Play [Album Name],’ ‘Alexa, Play [Radio Station] on Saavn,’ etc.
“Alexa, open Washington Post.”
If you are searching for a source to hear the news through Alexa, you need to enable The Washington Service. The skill lets you listen to one of three shows updated daily on The Washington Post. You can even ask Alexa to read news headlines.
“Alexa, ask Fitbit how I’m doing today.”
If you have a Fitbit device, you need to enable the Fitbit skill. Once enabled, you can ask Alexa how many steps you have taken, how well you slept yesterday, Did you hit the sleep goal, etc.
“Alexa, ask AnyPod to play [Podcast]”
There is a wide range of Podcast skills that you can use with Alexa. Out of all those, AnyPod seems to be the best one. Once enabled, you can ask Alexa to subscribe to a podcast, play subscriptions, jump to a specific time in a podcast, play a particular episode, etc.
“Alexa, open Wild Planet”
With Alexa-enabled devices, you can also learn the sounds of your favorite animals. If you integrate your Alexa with Wild Planet, you will be able to play over 500+ animal sounds.
Wild Planet has almost all your favorite animals you want to hear. Also, new animals and specific breeds are being added constantly.
“Alexa, open t. p. link.”
If you have a TP-Link router at your home or workplace, you can use this Skill. The TP-Link router skill for Alexa makes managing your home network simpler than ever.
With this Skill, you can ask Alexa to enable the guest network, activate WPS, turn off the router’s LED lights, check the internet speed, and more.
“Alexa, pay my electricity bill”
With the Pay with Alexa skills, you can also make Alexa pay your bills. You need to ask Alexa to pay for your mobile, electricity, piped gas, broadband, DTH, and other bills.
For example, if you want to pay water bill, you need to ask ‘Alexa pay my water bill’. Similarly, you can use other commands like ‘Alexa, pay my gas bill’, ‘Alexa, pay my internet bill’, etc.
“Alexa, open Amazon Storytime”
Amazon Storytime is a free Alexa skill for kids ages 5-12. It’s a skill that has hundreds of short stories featuring lively full-cast recordings.
If you have kids at your home, they will definitely love this Skill. Kids can choose from story categories like bedtime, silly, friends, family, and more.
“Alexa, Open True or False”
Well, if you are looking for an Alexa skill that can test your brain, then True or False for Family might be the best pick for you. It’s a voice game that asks you hundreds of fun, family-friendly questions.
You can play this voice game at a sleepover, at a part, family gathering, or simply to pass the time.
These are just a few Alexa skills to get the most out of the Amazon Echo devices. Please make sure to bookmark this page, as we will update the article with more skills at regular intervals. I hope this article helped you! Please share it with your friends also.
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