I gave my wife an Amazon echo for Christmas. She likes to play music during the day and we ask echo about the weather.
Alexa has shopping list that goes to your phone and appointments...
I have a universal devices issy994i and some insteon devices home automation devices.
So what that all means is now I and have the echo turn and off lights.
You can say Alexa turn kitchen light on. She will turn it on. If the driveway alarm goes off you can say Alexa turn on porch light on.
Hey just like Iron man not that good but still pretty cool.
I use this automation to turn on my hot water recirculating pump when you turn a bathroom light or the kitchen sink light. This works great. (Alexa is not needed for this to work)
Echo (2nd Generation)