Alexa skills are kind of like apps for your Amazon Echo. Downloading new Alexa skills allows you to expand the voice commands recognized by your smart speaker. In fact, there are more than 60,000 Alexa skills that an Amazon Echo can learn in the US alone. With so many skills, it can be hard to find the right one for you. To help you decide, we’ve picked the 15+ best Alexa skills for 2020.
Music and Audio Skills
Your Amazon Echo can play music from your favorite streaming services such as Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music, and Pandora. If you want to know how to play music from another service, check out our guide on how to play Apple Music on Alexa. However, it’s worth noting that your smart speaker also has many other music and audio skills that you should consider enabling.
Sleep and Relaxation Sounds – Do you have a hard time sleeping at night? If you need white noise to lull you to sleep, this skill has over 125 sounds to choose from.
TED Talks – This skill gives you access to a library of inspiring lectures from TED Talks. You can choose to play the latest talks or explore them by topic or speaker.
NPR – With this skill enabled, you will have access to live radio from a network of NPR member stations. It’s a wonderful choice for anyone who wants to hear both local and international news. The skill lets you browse by location, change stations, or play any other NPR program.
Skills for Self-Care and Improvement
Get Me Up – If you find it hard to get up in the morning, this fun Alexa skill will be a lifesaver. It’s more than just an alarm. Consider it a nagging robot that wants nothing but the best for you. It will not stop until you actually get up and do something productive with your day.
My Morning – Once you finally get out of bed, this Alexa skill will help you start your day on the right foot. It will guide you through a five-minute meditation that includes affirmation statements, visualizing your day, stating what you’re grateful for, and saying what your priorities are for the day.
Fitbit – Keep your fitness and health goals by enabling Fitbit on Alexa. This skill tells your progress and gets you motivated throughout the day.
7-Minute Workout – With this skill enabled, you won’t need a lot of time to exercise. The 7-Minute Workout skill lets you choose between a low-impact, standard, or advanced workout. You can also choose to target specific muscle groups. And, to help you keep track of your progress, you will also receive weekly and monthly performance summaries.
Make Me Smart – This cool Alexa skill gives you nuggets of information from a wide range of categories, including pop culture, current events, tech, and more. Just say, “Alexa, make me smart,” and you’ll be inundated with useful information. This skill is a great way to keep up to date in today’s fast-paced world!
Best Alexa Skills for the Kitchen
Meal Idea – This incredibly useful Alexa skill gives you basic recipes for everyday cooking. Most of the recipes use ingredients that you likely already have in your pantry or refrigerator, making food preparation much easier.
OurGroceries – This skill requires you to download the OurGroceries app and set up an account. Once you do, this skill helps you add items to your lists, so you don’t forget a thing when it’s time to go shopping. The lists you create are then synchronized on the smartphones in your household. It also keeps track of recipes, barcodes, and photos of products.
Best Alexa Skills for Kids
Chompers – Do you have a hard time getting your kids to brush their teeth? That’s where the Chompers skill comes in! This Alexa skill makes the whole dental hygiene experience more entertaining for your kids. It tells jokes, plays silly music, and, best of all, tells your kids about proper brushing techniques.
Amazon Storytime – This Alexa skill reads a story to your kids from Amazon’s own selection of children’s books. The stories are perfect for kids ages 5-12. There are several categories to choose from, including silly, family, friends, and others.
Sesame Street – Sesame Street is a timeless show to entertain and teach your children. And, in the age of smart speakers, it also happens to be one of the best Alexa skills you can get. When you add this skill, your kids will be able to speak and interact with Elmo. How fun!
Best Alexa Skills for Seniors
Ask My Buddy – This skill lets you ask for assistance with just a simple voice command. When you sign up for an Ask My Buddy account, you will be asked to create a Personal Alert Network of close friends and family. Then, if you need assistance, you just say “Alexa, Ask My Buddy to send help,” and an alert will be sent to all the phone numbers on your network.
Phone Finder – For elderly Amazon Echo users who often need assistance in locating their mobile phones, this skill will be a godsend. Once enabled, this skill will help you locate your phone when you misplace it. Your device will ring even if it is on silent.
Mastermind – This skill has several features that let you communicate or get things done hands-free. It can be used to send text messages and emails. It can also make phone calls, share your location, do internet searches, launch maps, access schedules, and much more.
Your Amazon Echo can do so much more, especially when connected with other smart devices in your home. If you want to know more, check out our previous article about other cool things that you can do with Alexa.
