How to Use Voice Assistants to Plan Better Gifts

Finding the right gifts for people and sending them on time can be an anxiety-inducing experience. Whether you’re shopping for a birthday, holiday, or graduation present, there’s always pressure to come up with something meaningful for the recipient. Fortunately, using a voice assistant, like Siri or Alexa, can make this process easier. Count on your assistant to create reminders and suggest gift solutions to help streamline the gift-giving process.

Read on to learn more about how voice assistants can help you plan better gifts!

Get Important Dates on Your Calendar

If you’re hoping to be better at gifting, that effort starts with getting important milestones on your calendar. Anything from your parents’ anniversary to your partner’s birthday needs to be confirmed on a digital calendar. Ask your voice assistant, “ Please remind me that Dan’s birthday is on January 2nd.” Voice assistants like Siri, Google Assistant, or Alexa will log that information in your calendar.

Go a step further and ask for a reminder two weeks prior to the special day. Then you’ll give yourself buffer time to start searching for a gift. For instance, you can say, “Remind me that I will need to look for a gift for Carol during the weekend of August 5th.” Or you can say, “Tell me to order Purdys chocolates tonight at 5:00” for a more targeted reminder. Spend ten or fifteen minutes of your time on a quiet evening scheduling as many reminders as you can think of using your voice assistant.

Create Gift Lists

Last-minute gift buying can feel stressful, especially if you’re not sure what to get a family member or friend. When you’re proactive about creating lists with gift ideas for different people, you’ll make the process less fraught. And it will be easier to package the gifts and get them to their recipients on time.

You can use voice assistants to generate lists and involve others in the planning process, as well. If you use Apple’s Reminders app, for example, use your iPhone to have Siri add items to an existing gift list. Maybe you’re enjoying a lunch break and suddenly realize that a framed image from a recent family photo shoot would be ideal for your mom’s birthday. Tell Siri to add that idea to your list. With Alexa, you can create lists and share them with others. This is ideal if you’re collaborating on a gift together or simply pooling ideas. With group gifts, everyone can be on the same page about ideas and costs that impact budgets when you use a voice assistant to create a shared list.

Make the Most of Shopping and Calendar Integrations

If you’re hoping to trim time off your gift shopping experience, turn to calendar and shopping integrations. This means that you’ll need to link your voice assistants to stores like Amazon as well as your digital calendar.

When you connect your voice assistant to your calendar, you’ll see alerts pop up reminding you to purchase gifts or start party planning. You’ll be able to map out a plan so you’re not scrambling frantically at the last minute. And, with shopping integration, you can add items to a shopping cart at your favorite online store with a simple voice command. Just be sure to connect the store, and then you can look at the items in your cart later. You can even create wishlists of solid, giftable items that you can use for lots of different people and events. Then you’ll always have a reliable choice ready to order when you need a gift.

Keep Your Personal Details Private

If you’re sending a gift, you’ll need to enter personal details, like your name and address. You’ll also be using credit cards or bank accounts to make online payments. That means you’ll want to ensure that your voice assistant’s privacy settings are secure. Delete recordings and avoid making purchases through voice commands if you’re using a shared device. Keep reminders connected to only your account, as well, to avoid unintentionally sharing personal information. You can manage the privacy dashboards through both Google and Amazon to check your data. Ultimately, it’s best to be as anonymous as possible.

Let Voice Assistants Help You with Gifts

Voice assistants can be a big asset when you’re trying to find and send gifts to friends and family members. But they can help you before you ever reach that stage, too, by setting reminders about special events in your calendars. You can even create gift lists, collaborate with others, and send purchase ideas directly to a shopping cart at your preferred online shop. In short, when you turn to voice assistants like Alexi, Siri, or Google, you can make giving gifts a more enjoyable process.