Now you can ask Alexa to inform meeting participants when you are running late.

Unexpected events such as traffic, or back-to-back meetings can sometimes cause us to be late to our next meeting. Informing meeting participants that we will be late can require multiple steps and we are often not in a position to send this simple message, for example, when we are driving.

Starting today, you can ask Alexa to inform meeting participants that you are running late by just saying “Alexa, I’m running late.” Alexa will send a short email to all meeting participants, informing them of the delay after confirming the meeting you are referring to.

This voice command can be used with Alexa devices on your desk, the Alexa app, or an Echo Auto device in your car.

You can also specify how late you expect to be by saying “Alexa, I’ll be 10 min late for my next meeting.”

If the meeting is with only one other person, Alexa will offer to help you reschedule the meeting if you will be more than 10 minutes late. If Alexa finds a conference bridge in the meeting invite, Alexa will offer to help you join the meeting via web conferencing so you can start participating in the meeting while you arrive in person.

Getting Started

This feature is available to all Alexa customers in the US today, thanks to Alexa for Business. You can start using this feature by easily linking your Microsoft Office 365 or Microsoft Outlook, Google G Suite or Gmail, or Apple iCloud calendar and email accounts with Alexa.

For questions, suggestions, or feedback, contact customer support or post on our community forums.

To learn more about how you can safely manage your email, calendar, and meetings with Echo Auto when driving, read our Echo Auto blog here.