Most Useful Alexa Skills
Todoist- is one of my favorite Most Useful Alexa Skills
A skill from one of the best reminders and to-do listing apps. You can add to-do list items and tick them off from the Alexa skill, helping you stay organized hands-free. Of course, Alexa will also flag reminders of stuff on your list. It’s an essential download for Todoist users – and a great reason to try it out if you’re not.
To enable: "Alexa, enable Todoist" or visit the Alexa Skills Store. You need to link your Todoist account.
Top command: "Alexa, add pick up the kids tomorrow at 4 pm to my to-do list.”
Wiffy
It's the age-old question: what's the Wi-Fi password? With this one, you can say, "Alexa, ask Wiffy for the Wi-Fi password" to find out. You shouldn't use this one if there are people you might not want to grant access to, but otherwise, it's a real time saver.
To enable: "Alexa, enable Wiffy" or visit the Alexa Skills Store.
Top command: "Alexa, ask Wiffy what is the Wi-Fi password?"
Xbox
The Xbox skill for Alexa lets you control your console in all manner of ways using your voice: power it on/off, launch a game of your choosing, record a moment, turn the volume up/down, and even start a party. Requires an Xbox account.
To enable: Install the Alexa app, sign into your Microsoft account to link the two, or visit the Alexa Skills Store.
Top command: "Alexa, turn on Xbox."
Guitar Tuner
A must for any guitar player. Alexa will turn the sound out each note, helping you tune your strings. It's a simple skill, but as any musician will attest, a mighty useful one.
To enable: "Alexa, enable Guitar Tuner" or visit the Alexa Skills Store.
Top command: "Alexa, ask the guitar tuner to tune note A."
Translated
Amazon is working on a real-time translator for Alexa, but in the meantime, this skill should help you get by. Alexa can translate short sentences from English into one of 36 languages and will read them more slowly if you're having trouble with intonation, or you can ask it to repeat the phrase entirely.
Curiosity
Curiosity is for you if you've ever needed a little intellectual stimulation, or your conversation is stalling, and you want to spice it up with something interesting. This skill presents you with two topics, you choose one, and it'll tell you an interesting fact about art, history, or science. It's kind of like feeding your brain, except what you're feeding it is random.
To enable: "Alexa, enable Curiosity" or visit the Alexa Skills Store.
Most Useful Alexa Skills for Travel
Wherever you're trying to get, and however you're trying to get there, your Echo can help – you need the right skills and questions. They can't help with delays, but this lot can make your journey easier.
Uber/Lyft
Sync your Uber and/or Lyft account through the Amazon Alexa app to allow access, and from there, you can use the rideshare apps. Just make sure your location is correct so the driver can find you. You can also request arrival statuses, cancel ride requests and, for Lyft, even rate drivers. The Show version of the Uber app will even look at your driver's ratings and where they are.
Install the Alexa app, link your account, or visit the Alexa Skills Store.
The Most Useful Alexa skills for your Echo smart speaker
Plex
If you're a user of Plex's media aggregator, the Alexa skill is worth a try: it lets you access all your stored movies, shows, and music with Alexa, meaning you won't need to reach for the remote. You can ask for a specific title or ask, "Alexa, ask Plex to suggest something to watch."
To enable: "Alexa, enable Plex" or visit the Alexa Skills Store.
Top command: "Alexa, ask Plex what's on deck."
TrackR Find My Phone
We've all been there, frantically trying to find your lost phone with no friends around to let you call it from their handset. Don't worry, though; set your phone up with TrackR, and the next time you misplace it, Alexa will help you find it.
To enable: Install from Alexa app and link account – needs partner smartphone app. Or visit the Alexa Skills Store.
Top command: "Alexa, ask TrackR to ring my phone."
Most Useful Alexa Skills for Echo speakers with a screen
The Most Useful Alexa Skills for Echo Show
If you're Alexa smart speaker also happens to be an intelligent display. I.e., it's one of the Echo Show range, the aging Echo Spot, or even a Fire Tablet with Show Mode; a bunch of excellent visual skills offers a load of new possibilities, ones that screen-less Amazon Echo speakers can't.
If you're wondering precisely what skills work with your smart speaker with a display, we’ve pulled together a comprehensive guide to the best Alexa Skills for Show speakers, so make sure you jump over to that.
The 50 Best Alexa Skills That Help Make Your Life Much Easier
There are more than 100,000 Alexa skills available.