How to enable Alexa person and package announcements on an Echo speaker

Echo Show smart displays can now automatically show you when there is a person or package spotted by your security camera. | Photo Illustration by Grayson Blackmon / The Verge You may already be used to telling your Alexa smart speaker what to do: play your Spotify playlist, set a timer for the hard-boiled eggs, turn on your smart lights. But you might not know that the voice assistant has a number of proactive features — things it can do without being prompted. One such feature is having an Amazon Echo speaker announce when motion is detected on a compatible security camera. Motion announcements work on a large number of Alexa-compatible cameras and, as of last week, that includes Google Nest’s newest cameras. But now, thanks to a recent update, Echo speakers can also announce when a smart camera sees a person or, on some devices, a package. Plus, it can also automatically show a live feed from that security... Continue reading…

How to enable Alexa person and package announcements on an Echo speaker
Echo Show smart displays can now automatically show you when there is a person or package spotted by your security camera. | Photo Illustration by Grayson Blackmon / The Verge

You may already be used to telling your Alexa smart speaker what to do: play your Spotify playlist, set a timer for the hard-boiled eggs, turn on your smart lights. But you might not know that the voice assistant has a number of proactive features — things it can do without being prompted.

One such feature is having an Amazon Echo speaker announce when motion is detected on a compatible security camera. Motion announcements work on a large number of Alexa-compatible cameras and, as of last week, that includes Google Nest’s newest cameras. But now, thanks to a recent update, Echo speakers can also announce when a smart camera sees a person or, on some devices, a package. Plus, it can also automatically show a live feed from that security...

Continue reading…