Customize Voice Commands

It can be difficult to remember the voice commands you should use to invoke a built-in function or skill, especially when the voice commands are different from what you typically would say. It can be especially challenging if you want to invoke a specific skill but you do not remember the exact skill name. For example, if you would like to use a skill <skill name>, you will need to say “Alexa, open <skill name> and perform <action>”. If you do not recall the name of the skill, you may not be able to invoke the skill. Here are some tips to make this process easier.

• Ask yourself what you would typically say if you want to invoke the skill You may want to say “Alexa,  perform <action>”. You can then use the Alexa Routines to make the voice commands equivalent to the original command “Alexa, open <skill name> and perform <action>”.

You can follow the steps shown below:

• Click “More” at the bottom right corner of the Alexa app menu, then click “Routines”.

• Click the + icon at the top right corner to create a new routine.

• Click “Enter routine name”, then provide a name, which can be anything that helps you remember in case you want to edit it later. Click “Next” at the top right corner.

• Click “When this happens”, then click “Voice”. Type in your custom phrase. You can add another phrase. When finished, click “Next” on the top right corner.

• Click “Add an action”, then click “Custom”. Type in the original command with the skill name. When finished, click “Save” on the top right corner.

• Now, you can test this routine. You can say “Alexa,  perform <action>”, Alexa should invoke “Alexa, open <skill name> and perform <action>” automatically. This way, you could communicate with Alexa more naturally.