Alexa can notify you if it's figured out an answer it didn't know before

Alexa wants to prove it's getting smarter.
 By 
Johnny Lieu
 on 
Alexa can notify you if it's figured out an answer it didn't know before
Alexa, tell me what you didn't know before. Credit: Getty Images

When Alexa doesn't know the answer to a question, many of us just give up, or just end up looking for the answer on our phone.

Not one to leave loose ends untied is Amazon, which is rolling out a feature called Answer Update on Alexa devices this week, spotted by Voicebox.

The feature will alert users when Alexa has found the answer to a question it previously did not know when initially asked.

Usually when the voice assistant is stumped, it'll return an answer like "I don’t know that, but I’m always learning," "I can’t find the answer to the question I heard," or "Sorry, I didn’t understand the question."

Now if you turn on Answer Update, it'll reply with "If you ask me a question and I don’t know the answer but I find out later, I’ll notify you." The notification will come on the device if you've enabled the feature, according to TechCrunch.

While you may have already found the answer to your query already, Amazon said it's a way to demonstrate the gradual improvements to Alexa.

"The Alexa service is getting smarter every day, and Answer Updates is just another way we’re continuing to expand Alexa's Knowledge Graph," an Amazon spokesperson told the news outlet.

Now you know.

Topics Alexa Amazon

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Johnny Lieu

Mashable Australia's Web Culture Reporter.Reach out to me on Twitter at @Johnny_Lieu or via email at jlieu [at] mashable.com

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