How to make the most out of a digital assistant

SAN ANTONIO - If you got a new Amazon Echo or Google Home for Christmas and you're not sure of exactly what to do with it, Consumer Reports offers help.

The first step is setting it up.

"When you get a new voice assistant or smart speaker, you need to download the app that goes with it," said Consumer Reports' Bree Fowler. "And from there, it will walk you through how to set  the device up."

Once that is done, the possibilities are almost endless. You might have to enable things called "skills" for the Echo and "actions" for Google Home. Think of them as added features that make  your assistant even smarter.

You can have it tell you about the weather, read your calendar, get the latest sports scores, play trivia games and even time your dinner.

Your new assistant can really show off with high-tech add-ons like smart light bulbs, thermostats, door locks and electrical plugs.

"If you have a smart plug, you can turn on and off whatever you happen to have plugged into it, whether it's a lamp or, in my case, a Christmas tree," Fowler said.

She suggests patience as you get to know your new assistant and what it can do.

All Consumer Reports material Copyright 2017 Consumer Reports, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Consumer Reports is a not-for-profit organization which accepts no advertising. It has no commercial relationship with any advertiser or sponsor on this site. For more information visit consumer.org.

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