How to turn on Alexa Follow-Up Mode and ask strings of questions

If you have an Echo speaker or Echo Show smart display, there’s a good chance you’ve run into a situation where you’ve wanted to follow up your previous question with another. Except, you have to keep saying your wake word, and that can get annoying pretty quickly. Thankfully, there’s a feature that takes away this frustration. 

The feature is called “Follow-Up Mode,” and when it’s turned on, you can make more requests without having to repeat the “Alexa” wake word.

Before ‘Follow-Up Mode’ existed you had to say the wake word every time. You couldn’t say, “Alexa, what’s the weather like tomorrow,” then wait, and add, “how about tomorrow?” You had to say, “Alexa, how about tomorrow?”

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Not anymore. Follow-Up Mode changes all that. After switching it on, ask Alexa a question or say a command. The blue indicator light on your Echo device will continue shining for about five seconds to allow additional requests. However, to get it to work properly, you have to wait for Alexa to say “OK” – to ensure she completed your first request. If she does, you can continue with your string of commands.

For instance, you can say, “Alexa, turn on the TV,” and then after Alexa says “OK,” you can immediately add, “Lock the door.” After five seconds or so of no additional voice commands, Alexa’s Follow-up Mode will stop and the blue indicator light will turn off.

However, at any time, you can abruptly stop Follow-up Mode by saying “stop,” “cancel,” “go to sleep,” or “thank You.” Neat, right?

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How to turn on Alexa Follow-Up Mode

Mobile

Open the latest version of the Alexa mobile app.Tap ‘Devices’ then ‘Echo and Alexa’Select the Echo device you want to enable the feature onTap the Settings cog iconSelect ‘Follow-Up Mode’ and then toggle it onAsk Alexa follow-up questions without repeating the wake word.

Web

Go to Alexa on the web.Select Settings.Now choose the device you want to enable the feature onScroll down to Follow-Up Mode and use the toggle to turn it on.Ask Alexa follow-up questions without repeating the wake word.

What can you ask in Follow-Up Mode?

Here’s a string of questions you can ask, as an example:

Alexa, who is the President of the US?Where was he born?How old is he?

Notice you don’t need to say “Alexa” for any of the follow-up questions. Also, Alexa will recognise the subject of your question. That means you don’t have to say “President” in each of your additional questions. Just say it once, and it’ll recognise who you are asking about each time. Follow-Up Mode also works for other questions, smart home commands, music requests, and anything else you usually ask Alexa. 

Amazon warns that the feature will not work when your Echo device is playing music, books, or you’re on a call through the device. Also, Alexa may not be confident you’re speaking to it if it “detects that speech was background noise or that the intent of the speech was not clear”. In other words, Alexa will only respond to requests it’s definitely recognised – and not just background noise.

So, it’ll be interesting to see how well this feature works going forward.

Which devices support Follow-Up Mode?

The feature appears to be available for the entire Amazon Echo lineup, as well as some third-party Alexa devices.

Any other tips? 

Sure, check out our latest Echo tips and tricks video which shows you how Follow-Up Mode is activated along with a few more handy features to try: