You bought a smart speaker. You asked it the weather, set a timer,
and maybe played a song. And now? It’s just sitting there, glowing,
waiting for you to do something more interesting. Here’s the thing —
your Echo or Nest can do about 50 times more than you’re asking it to.
This cheat sheet is the one you’ll bookmark, because these are the
commands that actually make daily life smoother, not just fancier.
We’ve organized all 50 into categories so you can find what you need
fast. Each command shows both the Alexa and Google Home phrasing when
they differ. Grab your speaker and let’s go.
1. Morning Routines
Start your day without touching your phone.
“Alexa, start my morning” / “Hey Google, good
morning” Runs your custom morning routine — news briefing,
weather, calendar, and smart home actions all at once. The single
command that replaces five minutes of phone scrolling. Set yours up in
Alexa routines that
actually save time.“Alexa, what’s my flash briefing?” / “Hey Google, tell me
the news” Plays your curated news summary from sources you
chose. Skip the doom-scroll — get the headlines in 3 minutes
flat.“Alexa, turn on the coffee maker” / “Hey Google, turn on
the coffee maker” Trigger any smart-plug-connected appliance by
name. Pair it with a smart
plug and your drip coffee starts brewing before you leave the
bedroom.“Alexa, how’s my commute?” / “Hey Google, how long to
work?” Checks real-time traffic for your saved commute route.
No more guessing whether 101 is a parking lot today.“Alexa, what’s on my calendar today?” / “Hey Google, what
does my day look like?” Reads your upcoming appointments. Great
for catching that 9 AM meeting you almost forgot.“Alexa, play my wake-up playlist” / “Hey Google, play my
morning playlist” Starts your go-to morning music. Way better
than the default alarm tone you’ve grown to hate.
2. Kitchen Helpers
Your sous-chef doesn’t need a paycheck.
“Alexa, set a timer for 12 minutes” / “Hey Google, set a
timer for 12 minutes” The most-used command in any smart home.
Hands covered in flour? No problem. Pro tip: name your timers — “Alexa,
set a pasta timer for 10 minutes and a sauce timer for 15.”“Alexa, how many cups in a quart?” / “Hey Google, how
many tablespoons in a cup?” Instant kitchen conversions. No
more guessing or washing your hands to check your phone.“Alexa, how many calories in an avocado?” / “Hey Google,
how many calories in an avocado?” Quick nutritional lookups
while you’re meal prepping or deciding on a snack.“Alexa, what can I substitute for buttermilk?” / “Hey
Google, what’s a substitute for buttermilk?” Substitution help
when you’re halfway through a recipe and missing an ingredient. This one
saves more grocery runs than you’d think.“Alexa, find me a chicken recipe” / “Hey Google, find a
chicken recipe” Pulls recipe suggestions based on ingredients
you have. On the Echo
Show 8 or Google
Nest Hub, you get step-by-step visual instructions too.“Alexa, add milk to my shopping list” / “Hey Google, add
milk to my shopping list” Voice-powered grocery lists. Say it
once, check it at the store later. Simple and shockingly
useful.
3. Entertainment
Your speaker is a DJ, a remote, and a game night host.
“Alexa, play jazz in the living room” / “Hey Google, play
jazz on the living room speaker” Play music on a specific
speaker in a specific room. Multi-room audio is the real flex of a smart
home.“Alexa, play Song Quiz” / “Hey Google, play Song
Quiz” A multiplayer game that plays song clips and challenges
you to name them. Surprisingly addictive at parties.“Alexa, turn on the TV” / “Hey Google, turn on the
TV” Control your TV with your voice if you have a compatible
smart TV or a Fire TV / Chromecast. Also: “Alexa, play Stranger Things
on Netflix.”“Alexa, play the Daily podcast” / “Hey Google, play The
Daily” Hands-free podcast playback. You can also ask to skip,
pause, or go back 30 seconds.“Alexa, play 20 Questions” / “Hey Google, I want to play
20 Questions” Classic road-trip game, now with your speaker.
Great for keeping kids (or adults) occupied.“Alexa, play movie trivia” / “Hey Google, play movie
trivia” Trivia games are built in and there are dozens to
choose from. Check the Skills/Actions stores for more.
4. Smart Home Control
This is where voice commands stop being cute and start being
essential. If you haven’t explored the
best smart home apps to tie everything together, start there — then
use these commands to trigger it all hands-free.
“Alexa, turn off all the lights” / “Hey Google, turn off
all the lights” The classic bedtime command. Walking around
flipping switches is for people who haven’t discovered this one
yet.“Alexa, set the living room to 72 degrees” / “Hey Google,
set the living room to 72 degrees” Adjust your thermostat
without getting up. If you have a smart thermostat, this one pays for
itself in comfort.“Alexa, lock the front door” / “Hey Google, lock the
front door” Lock up from bed. Especially useful if you’re the
“did I lock the door?” type (and let’s be honest, we all are).“Alexa, set movie night” / “Hey Google, activate movie
night” Custom scenes and routines — dim lights, close blinds,
turn on the TV — all from one phrase. Set these up in your app and
trigger them by name.“Alexa, turn on the porch light” / “Hey Google, turn on
the porch light” Turn on individual lights by room or name.
Great for coming home late or checking if you left something
on.“Alexa, is the front door locked?” / “Hey Google, is the
front door locked?” Check lock status without getting out of
bed. Peace of mind in three seconds.
5. Productivity
Your smart speaker is a hands-free secretary.
“Alexa, add ‘pick up dry cleaning’ to my to-do list” /
“Hey Google, add ‘pick up dry cleaning’ to my to-do list”
Capture tasks the moment you think of them. That’s the whole trick to
actually using a to-do list.“Alexa, remind me to call Mom at 6 PM” / “Hey Google,
remind me to call Mom at 6 PM” Time-based reminders that
actually fire. Better than the mental sticky notes you keep
losing.“Alexa, what’s 15 percent of 85?” / “Hey Google, what’s
15 percent of 85?” Quick math for tips, discounts, splitting
bills. Faster than unlocking your phone and opening the
calculator.“Alexa, add eggs to my shopping list” / “Hey Google, add
eggs to my shopping list” Kitchen list management. Say it while
you’re staring at an empty fridge and it’s there when you’re at the
store.“Alexa, read my emails” / “Hey Google, read my
emails” Have your inbox read aloud. Alexa requires linking your
email account first, but once set up, it’s great for triaging during
your commute.“Alexa, create a new reminder for Friday at 3 PM” / “Hey
Google, remind me on Friday at 3 PM to submit the report”
Scheduled reminders that don’t get lost in a sea of app
notifications.
6. Communication
Your speaker is an intercom, phone, and messenger.
“Alexa, call Mom” / “Hey Google, call Mom” Voice
calls through your speaker. Works for Alexa-to-Alexa calls and regular
phone numbers if you’ve set up calling.“Alexa, announce dinner is ready” / “Hey Google,
broadcast dinner is ready” Sends a voice message to every
speaker in the house. The modern dinner bell. Parents: this one is a
lifesaver.“Alexa, drop in on the kids’ room” / (Google Home doesn’t
have an exact equivalent — use broadcast instead) Alexa’s Drop
In feature lets you instantly connect to another Echo in the house like
an intercom. No ringing, no waiting.“Alexa, send a message to Sarah” / “Hey Google, send a
message to Sarah” Send voice or text messages to contacts.
Works for Alexa-to-Alexa messaging or, with setup, SMS.“Alexa, play my notifications” / “Hey Google, what are my
notifications?” Catch up on what you missed — package
deliveries, reminders, and skills that have updates for you.
7. Security and Safety
These commands can make your home safer — and give you peace of mind
when you’re away.
“Alexa, arm the alarm system” / “Hey Google, arm the
security system” Arm your smart security system by voice. Works
with Ring, ADT, SimpliSafe, and others. Set a PIN for disarming so not
just anyone can turn it off.“Alexa, show me the front door camera” / “Hey Google,
show me the front door camera” Pull up a live camera feed on
your Echo Show or Nest Hub. Check who’s at the door without walking
over. For the best experience, the Echo
Show 8 is the sweet spot of size and price.“Alexa, are all the doors locked?” / “Hey Google, are all
the doors locked?” Bulk security check. One command, all your
smart locks, instant status.“Alexa, turn on away mode” / “Hey Google, activate away
mode” Trigger a routine that locks doors, arms the alarm, turns
lights on and off randomly to simulate someone being home. Essential for
travel.“Alexa, call for help” / “Hey Google, call emergency
services” Alexa’s Emergency Help feature and Google’s emergency
calling can connect you to local emergency services. Set these up before
you need them.
8. Fun and Games
Smart speakers aren’t just for productivity. These are the commands
that make you go “wait, it can do that?”
“Alexa, play Jeopardy!” / “Hey Google, play
Jeopardy!” Daily Jeopardy! clues with the iconic theme music.
It’s like being on the show minus the anxiety.“Alexa, play Akinator” / “Hey Google, talk to
Akinator” The mind-reading game. Think of a character and it
tries to guess who you’re thinking of. Uncanny how often it
works.“Alexa, play thunderstorm sounds” / “Hey Google, play
thunderstorm sounds” Ambient soundscapes — rain, ocean,
fireplace, white noise. Way better than paying for a white noise
app.“Alexa, tell me a bedtime story” / “Hey Google, tell me a
story” Generates a short story, often personalized with your
name. The Echo
Dot is perfect for kids’ rooms for this reason alone.“Alexa, flip a coin” / “Hey Google, flip a coin”
Random coin flip. Great for settling debates. Also: “pick a number
between 1 and 10” or “roll dice.”“Alexa, play Would You Rather” / “Hey Google, play Would
You Rather” Silly hypothetical questions that are surprisingly
fun at dinner or on a road trip.
9. Health and Wellness
Your speaker won’t replace a doctor, but it’s surprisingly good at
keeping you on track.
“Alexa, start a 7-minute workout” / “Hey Google, start a
7-minute workout” Guides you through a full bodyweight workout.
No gym, no equipment, no excuses.“Alexa, play sleep sounds” / “Hey Google, play sleep
sounds” Ambient sounds for sleeping — rain, ocean, fan noise,
pink noise. Set a sleep timer so it turns off: “Alexa, set a sleep timer
for 30 minutes.”“Alexa, open Headspace” / “Hey Google, talk to
Headspace” Guided meditation sessions. A few minutes of
breathing can genuinely shift your day.“Alexa, remind me to take my medication at 8 AM” / “Hey
Google, remind me to take my medication at 8 AM” Medication
reminders that repeat daily. The kind of small thing that makes a big
difference.“Alexa, start a meditation timer for 5 minutes” / “Hey
Google, set a meditation timer for 5 minutes” Simple timer with
a gentle chime. No app subscription needed.“Alexa, how many steps are in a mile?” / “Hey Google, how
many calories did I burn today?” Quick health and fitness
lookups. Google can pull data from connected fitness trackers if you’ve
linked them.
10. Travel and Weather
Planning a trip or just getting out the door? These commands save you
the app-hop.
“Alexa, what’s the weather this weekend?” / “Hey Google,
what’s the weather this weekend?” Multi-day forecast without
opening an app. Ask specifically for the weekend, tonight, or tomorrow
morning.“Alexa, what’s the traffic to the airport?” / “Hey
Google, how long to the airport?” Real-time traffic estimates
for any saved or spoken destination. Worth checking before you
leave.“Alexa, what time does the sun set?” / “Hey Google, when
is sunset?” Sunset and sunrise times. Useful for photographers,
dog walkers, and anyone planning an evening outdoors.“Alexa, what’s my flight status?” / “Hey Google, what’s
the status of flight AA 1234?” Check flight status by number.
Linked accounts can track upcoming flights automatically.“Alexa, how do you say ‘where is the bathroom’ in
Spanish?” / “Hey Google, how do you say ‘where is the bathroom’ in
Spanish?” Real-time translations for dozens of languages. A
travel essential that most people never think to try.“Alexa, add sunscreen to my packing list” / “Hey Google,
add sunscreen to my packing list” Build your packing list by
voice. Way easier than typing it into a notes app while you’re tossing
things in a suitcase.
Start With These 5 Today
If you only remember five commands from this whole list, make it
these — they’re the ones you’ll use every single day:
- “Set a timer for [X] minutes” — The kitchen command
you’ll use more than any other - “Turn off all the lights” — The bedtime command
that saves you a house tour - “Add [item] to my shopping list” — The one that
stops you from forgetting things - “Remind me to [task] at [time]” — The reminder
system that actually works - “Start my morning routine” — One command that
kickstarts your entire day
For more on setting up routines that chain these together, check out
our guide to Alexa
routines that actually save time. And if you’re still rocking a
first-gen speaker, our best smart
speakers for 2026 roundup has upgrade picks for every budget.
Your smart speaker has been waiting for you to use it like this. Now
you’ve got the cheat sheet — go put it to work.