Do you know that Alexa can also read your emails and respond? Don’t know-how, then we are here to guide you.
Technology is evolving and so is our own Alexa, since its inception, there has been numerous development around Alexa to make it more functional and assists us in every possible way. And in these difficult times where we are mostly working from home, it really helps when we can hear our email read out by Alexa and also be able to respond to our emails. Isn’t that a cool feature, and yes you don’t have to spend a penny to enable this feature.
So, figuring how we can set up Alexa to read and respond to our emails, then please follow the given step. Don’t worry it is very simple and will take you minutes to set up.
How to Link my Email Account to Alexa?
The first thing to do is – you need to connect your configured email address in Amazon Alexa Application. Here’s how to do it:
1. Launch the Alexa app on an Android or iOS device and tap the menu button in the upper left corner of the screen.
2. The menu tab will expand, tap Settings which should be at the bottom of the list.
3. Once you are on the Settings page, scroll down and select an Email & Calendar under the Alexa preferences section.
4. From the Email & Calendar settings tap the Add Account option.
5. Now it’s time to choose an email provider (you can connect to Gmail, Microsoft, Apple accounts). For this example, we will choose the Microsoft option.
6. Make sure the Email toggle is enabled. Disable Calendar, or enable if you want to connect your calendar to Alexa as well. Then click on CONNECT ACCOUNT.
7. A Sign In screen will appear for the Email account you selected, enter your Email address and Password and sign in. You will then be asked to allow Alexa access to your Email, tap Yes. This approval allows Alexa to read, compose, send and permanently delete emails from your account. If you press on No, these features will not work.
8. You will then see the Account Added screen, tap the X in the top left corner.
9. Tap Proceed to set up Alexa voice recognition or tap Maybe later.
That’s it, you have linked your Email to Alexa and you can now use Alexa to check emails. The virtual assistant can now read incoming emails, reply to messages, delete them, and much more.
If you need to manage your connected email accounts, go back to More > Settings > Calendar & Email, then tap Accounts. After that, tap your email under Linked accounts. Now, you can unlink the account or connect a calendar. Tap Signature Exchange to add Sent via Alexa to your emails.
On the Email & Calendar screen, you will see an option called Email Security. If you turn it on, Alexa will ask you for a four-digit voice code that you will need to use before you can perform any operations with your email.
Another thing to mention when it comes to emails and Alexa. The whole family can set their own email address in the app using a personalized voice PIN code. So any member can use Alexa to check emails, delete them, reply to messages, and much more.
How to ask Alexa to read my email?
Ok, you have now linked your email with Alexa but how do you command Alexa to read your emails through Alexa devices such as an Amazon Echo or the Alexa smartphone app. Here’s a list of commands which should come in handy:
Command: Alexa, read my email or Alexa check my Email.
Action: Alexa will tell you how many unread emails you have from the last day, as well as the number of emails marked as important. Starting with the most recent message first, she will read the sender and subject line then will ask if you want her to read the entire email, delete it, or move on to the next unread email.
Command: Alexa, file.
Action: Alexa will archive your email message.
Command: Did I get an email from [contact]?
Action: It Will check if you have received any emails from that particular person, and the email hasn’t arrived yet, Alexa will also ask you to set up a one-time notification.
How to send emails through Alexa?
As of now, Alexa cannot write new emails for you but she can reply to emails received in your email inbox.
- If you want to reply to an email, just say Reply. You will have the option to compose a verbal email and Alexa will ask if you want to send the reply.
- If you say Yes, it will email you and include the Sent via Alexa subscription tag (if you chose to set it up).
- Be considerate but quick with your answers. Alexa won’t wait long for answers, and you will need to speak very clearly.
How to stop Alexa from reading your emails?
After Alexa reads your email, it will ask you if you want your first email read or deleted. If you no longer want Alexa to read your emails then you can do so by following the steps mentioned below.
- An easy command for this is Alexa, Stop. Remember, it’s a little more complicated to stop her once she starts reading the emails to you.
- If you decide halfway through an email that you want Alexa to stop reading them, you must wait until she finishes reading the current email before giving a verbal command.
- If you are using the Alexa app, you can tap the X on the screen to make it stop.
If you accidentally delete an email, you can still manually retrieve it from the email’s trash. Your email provider’s recovery time limits will apply.
Privacy and Security
When you link your email account with Alexa your email provider will warn you that you are giving Alexa and Amazon access to your emails and ask for approval. Amazon does store your contacts and emails in the Amazon cloud. The information is encrypted and stored securely on Amazon’s servers and Amazon Alexa only reads your emails when you request.
