Amazon Alexa can now act on its hunches

Amazon Alexa will now complete tasks based on “hunches.” Introduced back in 2018, Alexa hunches would alert you if a connected smart home device isn’t in its usual state. Alexa uses AI to learn your habits and suggest these actions. Amazon is now making Alexa smarter by letting it complete the task itself instead of alerting users.

Hunches made Alexa learn your habits of when a certain light is turned on or how long the thermostat is usually kept on. Accordingly, if Alexa notices that a smart light that should be turned off at night isn’t then it will alert you either by voice or through mobile push notifications. Amazon has upgraded this feature by giving Alexa the ability to turn off the smart home devices without alerting the user.

Alexa hunches are enabled by default but for proactive hunches, you’ll have to give permission. You can enable permission for each smart home device individually on the Alexa app. It will work for a single smart home device and an entire connected smart home as well.

Amazon is rolling out this feature first to users in the US, The Verge reported. There’s no word on when it will be available to users in other markets. Amazon has also launched its Guard Plus security subscription service through which Alexa can alert you on unfamiliar sounds at home, and call emergency services on your behalf. The Alexa app is also getting an energy dashboard that can monitor how much energy connected smart devices consume.