“Alexa, set a timer for 10 minutes,” I say in the kitchen as I’m putting a pot of water on a burner, followed by “Alexa, set a timer for 20 minutes” as I pop some lasagne in the oven for reheating.

Amazon's voice assistant Alexa is capable of doing all sorts of things for you, but it really is most helpful when tackling the tasks you might lose track of without the extra help. One of the ...