Back in pre-internet days, a huge part of at-home safety prep was teaching kids which phone number (or numbers!) to call when faced with an at-home emergency. And while those best practices still hold true today, there’s an all-new emergency assistance service that was designed with your family’s safety top-of-mind. Enter Amazon Alexa Emergency Assist, a subscription service that uses a simple verbal command to keep your family safe.
With modern benefits like being able to pre-save all of your critical information, or alerting close contacts so you don’t have to make multiple calls when you’re faced with a crisis, Alexa Emergency Assist was also designed to save precious time by quickly sending emergency services to your location (even if your Echo device is in Do-Not-Disturb mode). But that’s not where the smart emergency assistance updates end. Here are more ways Alexa Emergency Assist goes above and beyond to get you help when you need it:
1. It’s Voice Activated
“Well, duh,” you may be thinking, “I know how Alexa works.” But imagine being home alone and having an accident that makes it impossible to reach your phone. Or needing to call an ambulance while assisting an injured child who needs you by their side. Being able to access emergency services by simply saying a voice command means you can get help in literal seconds.
Once you’ve activated your Alexa Emergency Assist subscription, you can simply say “Alexa, call for help,” “Alexa, get help!,” or “Alexa, help me!” You don’t have to remember the exact words; Alexa will hear the word “help” and do the rest. Alexa Emergency Assist works across devices including Amazon Kids on Alexa, so if a child needs to call a grownup, they won’t have to find an adult’s phone and figure out how to unlock it to save the day.
2. It Saves Critical Information to Save Critical Time
When you’re in an emergency, you have to provide your address, describe what’s going on, and stay on the line with operators to provide details when — let’s face it — you probably aren’t your calmest self. With Alexa Emergency Assist, you can pre-save relevant information so that first responders know everything without you having to tell them. Save your name, address, household members, existing medical conditions or allergies, gate codes, and other personal info in the privacy-protected Alexa App so you’re not wasting even a second when faced with a true emergency.
3. You’ll Talk to a Real Person!
When activated with voice command, Alexa will connect you to a trained Urgent Response agent faster than industry standards — something you don’t realize is so valuable until you need it. Just take it from this five-star reviewer: “I said the magic phrase and literally, within 10 seconds a live voice was on talking with me. THAT is what I needed to know. The response time to reach a human was fantastic.”
Agents will already have your name and address, and they’ll even know which device or room you’re calling from (e.g. Living Room Echo Dot) and can access pre-saved alerts about your household (e.g. “I have a 4-year old in the house with a peanut allergy,” or “I use a wheelchair.”). Agents will then request emergency services for you and pass on critical information from your profile to first responders. You won’t need to find your phone, place a call, or spend precious time providing basic info.
4. It Keeps Emergency Contacts Informed
Coordinating with family in an emergency can add stress to an already difficult situation. With Alexa Emergency Assist, you can add up to 25 trusted contacts to a Safety Circle, and they’ll get notified as soon as you start and end a call. This means you can spend all of your time with the person who needs help, communicating hands-free with Urgent Response. It’s also a way for you to be alerted instantly of emergencies while out of the house, a huge comfort for parents of kids who are old enough to be left home alone.
5. It Alerts You to Sounds of Danger
In addition to recognizing vocal calls for help, Alexa Emergency Assist is programmed to alert you to the sound of a smoke or carbon monoxide alarm going off in your home, as well as to detect the sound of breaking glass. This provides an added layer of safety whether you’re asleep upstairs or out on an errand; a Smart Alert from the Alexa app on your phone will tell you the second there is an audible sign of danger so that you can call for help.
6. Your Privacy Isn’t Compromised for Your Safety
Alexa Emergency Assist was designed to give you control over your Alexa experience, and to protect your privacy. For example, you choose which sounds Alexa can detect, and have control over who is added to your Emergency Contacts list. You can also have audio recordings deleted automatically after three or 18 months, or choose a one-time “delete all”. No matter what you’re faced with, you control the information that Alexa Emergency Assist has and shares with first responders.
Learn more about Alexa Emergency Assist and protect your family with the click of a button here.
