NEW YORK (AP) – Alexa, what can you tell me about my health?
Starting Thursday, Amazon’s voice assistant will tell you how well you slept and how much more exercise you need – at least if you have a Fitbit fitness tracker and an Alexa-compatible device, such as Amazon’s Echo speaker and Fire TV streaming devices.
Alexa – Amazon.com Inc.’s answer to Apple’s Siri, Google Now and Microsoft’s Cortana – is part of the online retailer’s ambitions to control your living room, as people start embracing a “smart,” automated home. You can already use voice commands to ask Alexa for weather, movie listings and sports scores. Fitbit is adding several commands to Alexa’s vocabulary.
Ask about your sleep, and Alexa will tell you when you fell asleep and for how long. Ask about your daily walks, and Alexa will reply with how many more miles you need to reach your goals. Alexa might also add some encouraging words, such as “I believe in you.”
In recent weeks, Alexa has acquired such capabilities as paying Capital One credit card bills, ordering pizza from Domino’s and getting a ride through Uber. Amazon now has more than 100 third-party integrations, known as skills.