Alexa Routines Expand to More Services

Alexa’s routines can now play music, podcasts and radio shows.

11:28 09 April 2018

Alexa’s routines, which were launched last year, are designed to allow device owners to string together a series of actions that kick off a simple command – like “good night.” Today, the said routines are finally getting a musical upgrade, allowing users to play their favourite music, podcast or radio shows.

 

Alexa supports Amazon Music, Pandora, Spotify, iHeartRadio, Deezer, Saavn and TuneIN. The new feature is expected to make routines more useful for those who like to have music in their home on a more regular basis. For example, users who just want to have a quiet, relaxing night following a long day at work can simply say use a voice command (e.g., relaxing) so Alexa can play soothing songs as users sip a glass of wine.

 

Although the feature is something new to Alexa, its rival Google Assistant already supports music, podcasts and radio. In addition, Google Assistant routines can also pick up an audiobook where you left off.

 

Music is one of the crucial business aspects for Amazon, thus making better integration with Alexa makes sense. The company has recently revealed that it now has “tens of millions” of paid customers, making it the third-largest service behind Spotify and Apple Music.