Amazon updated Alexa last month with a modified version of its popular reminder art. You can now ask Alexa to ‘Tell me when’ an event occurs, and your device will give you background information and notify you when it actually takes place.
You could set a reminder for an event or task at a specific time, and asking Alexa to tell you when an event occurs can record relevant information. ‘Tell me when’ is a synthesis of the two tasks. Amazon has given some examples: you can ask Alexa to ‘Tell me when the next Seahawks game is’ and Alexa can tell you the time of the game and set a reminder to watch. Another interesting use is for email. You can now ask Alexa to tell you when an email comes from a specific person, and Alexa can announce the arrival of the email to save you by constantly checking your inbox. Of course, you need to be comfortable giving Alexa access to your email in order for the feature to work.
‘Tell me when’ shares overlap with another skill for severe weather warnings. You can ask Alexa to let you know when there is a severe weather warning, and the assistant can remind you when there is one in your area.
This may not be the most exciting feature on his face, but ‘Tell Me When’ is a great example of how Alexa picked up the ability to provide more contextual information and follow-up questions over time. Amazon did not provide a full range of opportunities that ‘tell me when’ works when we asked, but you should be able to try that skill out.
Check out Amazon’s blog for more updates on Alexa’s growing list of skills.