How to Set Up and Customize Amazon Echo Flash Briefing

Is there some news item, weather forecast, and other information and updates you want to hear every day? You can turn to your trusted Amazon Echo (at Amazon) for help. Even better, you don’t have to remember and say each skill individually with Alexa. You can add them all to Flash Briefing. But how do you set one up, and what skills and items can you add to it? Let’s check it out.

Setting up Flash Briefing

Start by saying, “Alexa, what is my Flash Briefing?” Alexa kicks off any news skill or service that’s already part of your quick press conference, be it something like NPR News, CNN, Bloomberg, or the Associated Press.

To add more skills or modify your Flash Briefing:

1. Open your Alexa app.
2. At the Home screen, search for the newly launched Alexa Flash Briefing.
3. Click the More link, then click the link to Customize your Flash Briefing.

Or tap the Settings icon () and select Flash Briefing.

Skill customization

If more than one is listed, you can turn different skills off or on at the Flash Briefing screen. To add more skills, tap Get more Flash Briefing content.

Looking for new skills

Alexa takes you to a page showing skills you can add to your Flash Briefing. You can browse through all skills or search for specific ones by entering a keyword or phrase followed by quick word summaries. Most Flash Briefing skills have audio-only. However, some offer video clips for viewing on the Echo Show (at Amazon).

Turn on a new skill

Tap a skill you want to add and tap the Enable button. You can then go back to the list of skills, browse for others that interest you, and enable any skills you’d like to add to your Flash Briefing.

Skill Management

When you’re done adding the skill, tap the Back button to return to the Flash Briefing Settings page. Review all the skills you’ve added and decide which skills to keep and which to disable. Active ones appear at the top of the page in the Enabled section; those that don’t work are at the bottom in the Disabled section.

Edit Flash Briefing order

Next, you can arrange the skills to determine the order in which you want to hear them. Click the link to Edit Order. Long press on the hamburger icon () next to the skill you want to move and drag and drop it to your desired position. Click Done.

Turn on your Flash Briefing

Now say, “Alexa, what’s my Flash Briefing?” Alexa starts with the first skill on your list. If you want to continue, say “Alexa, next.” Alexa looks for the next item in that skill or skips to the next skill during your press conference.