Amazon updated Alexa last month with a modified version of its popular reminder skill. You can now ask Alexa to “Tell me when” an event happens and your device will provide basic information and notify you when it actually occurs.
You were able to set a reminder for an event or task at a specific time for a while, and asking Alexa to let you know when an event occurs can get you relevant information. “Tell me when” is a kind of synthesis of the two tasks. Amazon provided some examples: you could ask Alexa “Tell me when the next Seahawks game will be” and Alexa could tell the game time and set a reminder to watch. Another interesting use is for email, now you can ask Alexa to notify you when an email arrives from a specific person, and Alexa can announce the arrival of the email to prevent you from constantly checking your inbox. Obviously, you should feel comfortable giving Alexa access to your email for this feature to work.
“Tell me when” shares some overlap with another previous skill for severe weather alerts. You can ask Alexa to notify you when there is a bad weather alert, and the assistant can remind you when there is one in your area.
It may not be the most interesting feature in its appearance, but “Tell me when” is a good example of how Alexa acquired the ability to provide more contextual information and follow-up questions over time. Amazon did not provide a full range of events that “tell me when” works when we ask, but you should be able to test the skill by now.
For more updates on Alexa’s growing list of skills, visit the Amazon blog.