HOW TO... get the most from your smart assistant

A smart, or virtual, assistant is a device that understands voice commands and can perform tasks for you, giving you hands-free control…

• Available on most smartphones and tablets, as well as devices such as Amazon Echo and Google Home, virtual assistants listen for specific spoken words in order to answer back or perform certain functions.

• You can wake yours up by saying ‘Okay Google’, ‘Alexa’ or ‘Hey, Siri’ depending on which one you’re using. Alexa is the voice behind Amazon’s Echo smart speaker while Google Home is a smart speaker powered by Google Assistant. Siri is found on Apple devices.

• There’s no monthly fee to use them; you simply pay for the smart device. If you wanted a subscription service however, such as Amazon Prime, then that does cost extra.

• Use them to answer questions, play music, provide a weather forecast, tell jokes, suggest recipes and even control lights and other compatible smart home devices. They can send texts, make calls and organise reminders, too. They also learn over time, using artificial intelligence (AI) to recognise your preferences.

• In order to perform searches online or communicate with other devices, your virtual assistant must be connected to the internet, so having good broadband is key.

• When using Alexa or Google Assistant, ask your question as soon as you’ve said your ‘wake’ word. With smartphone-based assistants such as Siri, hold the home button down then type in or speak your request.

• Alexa is built into Amazon’s Echo smart speakers and it’s also found in some other devices such as Sonos speakers. Google Assistant is available on many Android phones as well as the Google Home smart speaker and other brands such as JBL speakers. You can also set it up on an iPhone as well as smartwatches, laptops and TVs.