Follow up mode

If you need to ask Alexa multiple questions or give her multiple commands it get a little
monotonous having to say “Alexa” again and again to keep waking her up .Now with
Amazon Alexa’s new feature – Follow up mode , conversations will Alexa will feel more
natural . The basic idea behind this is quite simple. Once Follow up mode is enabled and she
has finished responding to your command , she will wait for 5 seconds to see if you have
anything else she can help you with . If you do not have any more tasks or questions she will
go back to sleep mode .

It is worth mentioning here that Alexa cannot handle multiple commands all at once . For
example you give her a command like “Alexa, turn off the lights and set the alarm for 5:45
a.m.” . What is possible is to give these commands in successive requests

You :“Alexa , turn off the lights”

Alexa: “Ok”
You :“Alexa , set the alarm for 5:45 a.m.”
Alexa: “Alarm set for 5:45 a.m.”

Here are the steps to follow to enable Follow-Up mode:

 Open the Alexa app and select the Alexa Device

 Head to Device settings
 Tap Follow up mode settings to on

The Alexa app will update the device with the new setting.
You can stop Alexa from listening to you by ending the conversation by using any of the
following commands :

“Alexa, stop.”
“Alexa, enough.”
“Alexa, shush.”
“Alexa, cancel.”
“Alexa, thank you.”
“Alexa, sleep.”

Alexa will only respond to follow up mode only if it is confident that it is an actual request
and not background noise. It will not respond to follow up mode if-

 You have forced Alexa to stop responding by issuing a command to end the
conversation (as described above).
 Your Alexa device is playing media (such as a song or audiobook).
 Alexa can’t be certain that you’re speaking to it and not to someone else nearby.

Brief Mode

Once you are an experienced Alexa user you may not want Alexa to stop saying “OK” to
everything you ask her to do .

Amazon has now rolled out a new feature called Brief mode that addresses this .Once Brief
mode is enabled Alexa will give shorter answers than usual, and where it is possible will
give a sound response instead of a verbal response, it will play a sound .

It is worth noting that this is not a device specific feature , which means that it will affect all
the Alexa enabled devices in the house once activated.

Follow these steps to turn on Brief mode:

In the Alexa App go to settings

Hit Alexa Account
Go to Alexa Voice Responses
Tap to turn on Brief Mode

The app will configure Alexa to use Brief mode.

https://www.cnet.com/how-to/new-alexa-features-to-up-your-amazon-echo-game/

'Alexa, tell me what you heard' and 'Why did you do that?'
Saying to Alexa, "Tell me what you heard" will lead to the digital assistant sharing
what exactly she "heard" you say. It seems like a small addition, but this feature
adds a little bit of clarity for users. "Why did you do that?" will make Alexa explain
why it performed any action. For instance, if music begins to play randomly, users
can check whether that streaming was initiated via Bluetooth or a misheard voice
command.

Auto Delete voice recordings every 3 or 18 months

Amazon has faced a number of privacy criticisms over the past year. To continue to
curtail privacy concerns, Amazon is adding more user choice. Another command
Amazon is introducing will delete users' voice recordings every 3 or 18 months.
Users can also tell Alexa to "Delete what I just said" or "Delete everything I've said
today."

Delete Voice Recordings

With the increase dependence on smart speakers , one big concern has been about
technology breeching our privacy . Amazon has taken cue from these concerns and
launched a few features to address these concerns

 Delete Conversations by Voice

Now Alexa users can tell Alexa to delete everything they said that day or what they just
said . When you tell Alexa to delete what you said for the day , she will delete what you said
from midnight till the moment you gave her the command .

To enable this feature

 Go to the Alexa App and to settings

 Select Alexa Account
 Tap on Alexa Privacy
 Select Review voice History
 Toggle on “Enable Deletion by Voice”

Auto delete

Once the Auto delete option is enabled your voice recordings will be automatically
deleted every 3 or 18 months on an ongoing basis.

To enable this feature

 Go to the Alexa App and to settings

 Select Alexa Account
 Tap on Alexa Privacy
 Select Manage your Alexa Data
 Toggle on “Automatically Delete Recordings”

Clear Alexa History

many Alexa users have is regarding

Multilingual Mode

Amazon will be rolling out a multilingual mode which will let US users converse with
Alexa in Spanish and English . She will also be able to respond back in the two
languages .Spanish is the second most widely spoken language in USA.

The feature will be rolled out as below in three countries

U.S.A. – English and Spanish

Canada – English and French

India – English and Hindi

Neural Text to Speech
This new development adds deep learning to the Echo's already impressive text-to-
speech technology. This new Neural Text to Speech feature should improve the
speech patterns of Alexa, making the assistant more "emotive and expressive," as
well as adding new languages, like Hindi, French and Spanish.

Celebrity voices
Beginning later this year, Amazon will be rolling out celebrity voices for Alexa. It
appears the "voices" will actually be partially generated based on limited recordings
with the celebrities, so how effective the feature is remains to be seen.

First up on the docket? Samuel L. Jackson. 

Frustration Detection
If Alexa senses frustration in the user's voice -- for instance, if she plays the wrong
song after a request -- she will apologize and attempt to clarify and recover.

Food Network features

Alexa will now be able to help users cook meals via a Food Network collaboration.
Customers will be able to access recipes and take cooking classes on Echo
Show ($230 at Amazon) devices. This will come with commands like, "Alexa, show
cooking classes from Bobby Flay," "Alexa, how many chicken thighs was I supposed
to use?" and "Alexa, save that recipe."

Smart Screen SDK 2.0

This new feature will allow richer interaction with displays, letting users follow up
questions with screen interactions. This will bring third-party screens closer to smart
display status. This means, when users ask for information like weather or sports
updates, you'll receive visual information.

Alexa Communications for Kids and Free Time

Communications for Kids will allow children to communicate with contacts
preapproved by parents. Free Time on Echo Show will give kids access to games
and other activities, as well as the above Communications for Kids.
Alexa Education Skill API
This new API will allow existing educational services to connect with Alexa. If
schools are using services to track kids' homework or grades, for instance, Alexa will
be able to share that info with parents.

Wi-Fi control
If users want to control certain Wi-Fi settings, they may use Alexa and certain brands
of router, to control Wi-Fi access. That means you could say things like, "Alexa,
pause the Wi-Fi on Bryan's PlayStation," or, "Alexa, pause the Wi-Fi on the tablet."

Alexa Hunches
Although Hunches has been announced before, Amazon will be launching this
feature now. If users tend to perform certain actions together -- for instance, locking
the door and turning off the lights -- Alexa will begin to prompt the second action
when you request the first.

Alexa Guard upgrades

Alexa Guard, which listens for window breaks and alarms, is expanding. The
customer can use more complex routines now, saying something like, "Alexa, I'm off
to work." This will not only arm Alexa Guard, but also trigger other commands, such
as turning off the lights. In addition, Alexa Guard will begin listening not only for
breaking glass and alarms, but also for human activity while you're out of the house.
That means the Echo should be able to tell the difference between your cat padding
around the apartment and an intruder sneaking around.