Do you get tired of using a wake word every time you interact with your home assistant?
Amazon's Alexa has follow-up mode which can help. Not having to say "Alexa" every time you have a question or command can make the interaction more conversational.
What Is Follow-Up Mode?
With follow-up mode enabled, Alexa will wait for your follow-up after responding to your first question or command.
For example, you could say "Alexa, what are some good movies?" and Alexa will display or list some movies. You could follow-up with, "And some good TV shows?" Without follow-up mode, you'd have to say, "Alexa, what are some good TV shows?" It's a minor difference that helps make interacting with Alexa a little smoother.
How To Enable Follow-Up Mode
One way to enable follow-up mode is to say, “Alexa, enable follow-up mode.” If you prefer, you can also change the setting in the Alexa app for iOS or Android.
3 Images- Open the Alexa app.
- Tap the devices icon in the lower right corner of the screen (it looks kind of like a house.)
- Tap Echo & Alexa in the upper right corner of the screen.
- Scroll down until you see the device listed (for example, Living Room Echo) and tap it.
- Tap the settings icon (a small gear) in the upper right corner.
- Scroll down until you see Follow-up mode, and tap it.
- Tap to toggle on the Follow-up Mode slider.
Good Conversational Flow
With follow-up mode enabled, you could say, "Alexa, what’s the weather today?" Alexa will say something like, “The Weather will be warm and sunny today with a high of 70 degrees and a low of 50.”
The listening indicator (usually a blue bar at the bottom of the Echo device) will remain lit for about five seconds.
You could follow-up with "How about this weekend?" Alexa will describe the weekend forecast. You might follow-up again with "Thank you, and how has the local sports team been doing?" Alexa will answer your question.
This can continue for a seemingly unbroken interaction between you and Alexa. It can almost feel like having a conversation with an actual person.
An Alexa You Can Talk To
As the artificial intelligence of Alexa evolves, it may be difficult to discern a conversation with Alexa from a conversation with a real person.
Making Alexa seem more "human" and user-friendly is likely an Amazon goal, evidenced by things like Alexa skills intended to make you smile and laugh. And maybe it's not exactly an official Alexa skill, but if you'd like there are even ways you can make Alexa swear.
Why Wouldn't You Enable Follow-Up Mode?
If follow-up mode is so great for making Alexa more conversational, why wouldn't Amazon enable it by default? Maybe because Alexa can have trouble knowing when you want an answer, and when you don't. For example, if you are speaking with another person, Alexa may become confused and interrupt your conversation.
Say you're making weekend plans with your friend and say, "We should go to the beach this weekend." Then you say, "Alexa, add sunblock to my shopping list." Alexa adds sunblock to your list and waits for your follow-up.
Your friend responds by saying, "That sounds really fun." Alexa may interpret this to be a follow-up and say something like "Sorry, I don't know that one." Not a huge deal, but you may have to either disable follow-up mode or wait for Alexa to stop listening.
Follow-Up Mode Can Improve Your Alexa Interaction
If you frequently interact with Alexa, follow-up mode can make the conversation less choppy. Maybe there are bigger concerns, but part of the usefulness and convenience of Alexa is being able to tailor it to your needs and preferences.
Follow-up mode is not perfect, but a good step in the direction of Alexa becoming more conversational.
