How to Use the Useful New Alexa Calendar Features
Your Amazon Alexa device will now perform slightly better with your calendar.
Amazon today announced several Alexa updates, notably a new one that allows you to view the availability of your calendar and another that allows you to incorporate your calendar into your routines.
Integration of the calendar into routine
You can now add your calendar as an activity in Routines. For example, if you already have a routine that gives you information about the weather, traffic jams and events in your calendar for the day, you can now set this routine to automatically play for you at a specific time, instead of having to say a trigger phrase. to get started. You can set the desired time instead of the trigger phrase in the Alexa app under Routines.
The idea here is that you no longer need to remember to actually utter this trigger phrase. A solid plus for those of us who keep forgetting but will still love these daily updates.
View calendar availability
This is a new feature that I personally really like. Alexa can already tell you what’s on your calendar, but now she can tell you when you have vacancies. For example, if you are chatting with a colleague about making an appointment, you might ask, “Alexa, when will I have thirty minutes on Wednesday?” If you have a fairly busy schedule, you can also ask more general questions, for example, “Alexa, when will I have some free time this week?”
API Reminders
The latest update is geared more towards developers than individuals, but should lead to some positive skill updates in the future. Businesses can now remind customers of events. For example, Kayak can remind you of an upcoming flight, and an NHL skill can tell you that your favorite team has a game today. Amazon launches API with multiple partners: Kayak, TV Guide, and NHL. It also works with Amazon Blueprints, so you can integrate reminders into skills you’ve learned yourself.