Make these 3 changes so Alexa works better for you

When I first started using Alexa, she didn’t give me the information I wanted. Asking for a sports update yielded a laundry list of sports scores for teams I don’t follow. And frustratingly, my favorite Pandora station wasn’t accessible with a voice command.

But a few simple — and super-fast — updates to my Alexa settings made everything so much better. My Pandora playlist is back 🙂

Do This Now: Update your Alexa settings

In the Alexa App, tap “More” on the bottom navigation bar, and tap “Settings.” Then you can customize Alexa to get everything how you want it. Try these 3 updates:

1. Link to your favorite music provider

Connect your Spotify, Pandora, Apple Music, SiriusXM, etc. account to Alexa so you can stream your favorite playlists, stations, songs and artists. While you’re at it, set it as your Default Music Library too! Tap/click here for step-by-step

Pro Tip #1

 If you don’t do this, Alexa will default to Amazon Music. Ad-free access to 2 million songs on Amazon Music is free for Amazon Prime members. Not a bad option!

2. Set up your favorite sports teams

“Alexa, what’s my sports update?” will tell you the latest news and scores on your favorite sports teams… but only if you tell Alexa who they are!

Go to Settings > Sports > Add a Team. Add your teams. Now try “Alexa, what’s my sports update?”

3. Customize your news

Customize your Alexa Flash Briefing to get the news you want to hear in 2-4 minute segments from your favorite providers. Tap/click here for step-by-step

Pro Tip #2

If you add too many or don’t like one, toggle them off on the main Flash Briefing settings tab.