Alexa is an artificially intelligent personal assistant developed by Amazon. It is primarily used in the company's Echo family of devices, which are voice-controlled home devices that play audio content, answer questions, provide information, manage to-do and shopping lists, provide weather and traffic updates, as well as other services. Alexa works by recognizing voice commands and responding with pre-programmed answers or tasks. Alexa has become increasingly popular in recent years, with more users adding the Echo devices to their homes in order to benefit from Alexa's capabilities. Alexa has been used for a variety of tasks, from ordering groceries to controlling home appliances.