How To Get Alexa To Stop Saying Ok

Adam Molina / Android Authority

Amazon's Alexa assistant can be a huge help any time you have a question. Instead of heading to the internet and typing out a question, you can talk to a semi-human voice. However, sometimes you just want to keep things quick and simple. Here's how to activate Alexa Brief Mode on your Echo speaker and cut down on some extra chit-chat.

See also:The best Alexa-compatible devices for your home: Our top 12

You may not have heard of Alexa Brief Mode before now, so we'll run you through the basics. We'll also explain why you might want to activate the feature in the first place.

What is Alexa Brief Mode?

Dhruv Bhutani / Android Authority

Let's kick things off with a realistic example. Say you're all comfortable in bed, but you haven't turned the lights off yet. You can simply say "Alexa, turn off the lights," and she'll shut them off immediately. When she does so, she'll usually add a personal touch along the lines of "Okay," or something like that.

It can be nice to have that personal touch, but Alexa isn't a person. You can ask her to shut off the lights, but you probably don't need her to respond in that case. If you're just asking Alexa for a simple task, you can usually see when it's complete.

See also:The best Amazon Echo hacks to get the most out of Alexa

Sure, you'll still want the lovable and talkative assistant when you ask more in-depth questions like definitions, and we're not going to tell you to shut that off.

Yet, you may want to keep Alexa silent if you're delivering voice commands and you don't want to wake anyone up. You can deliver commands via a whisper, and Alexa will respond with a whisper of her own, but Alexa Brief Mode takes things a step further. It swaps the familiar vocal response for a simple confirmation tone.

If you're ready to make Alexa a little bit quieter, here are the steps to follow:

How to enable Alexa Brief Mode

You'll also have to toggle Brief Mode back off using the same steps. If you'd rather manage it using your voice, you'll need these steps:

Once you ask Alexa for enough interactions, she will ask if you want to turn on Brief Mode.
You can respond with yes or no to indicate your preference.
Alexa will then indicate that Brief Mode is active or explain how to activate it later.

Unfortunately, Amazon hasn't gotten around to a completely silent version of Alexa at this point. You'll have to make do with whisper mode and Alexa Brief Mode for the time being, but we'll let you know if a silent mode comes around.