Once Alexa+ is active, go into the notebook you want to share and tap the share icon in the upper-right corner. (You’ll likely need to tap the top of the page for the menu bar to appear.) Once you click it, it’ll ask if you want to share just the page or the notebook. Both options can be used to share with Alexa. Once you choose one of those, a new menu will appear at the bottom of the screen with a prompt to send to the email your Amazon account is linked to, and a “Send to Alexa” option should be underneath those. Click it and you’re good to go.

Once you’re ready to ask about the notes you sent, you’ll want to prompt Alexa with a question like “Provide a summary of [notebook name].” I asked things like, “Give me a recap of my Disney planner notes,” and “Did you get my to-do note?” which prompted Alexa to tell me she found a Quick Notes document I sent.

Analyzing the Analysis

Photograph: Nena Farrell

The summaries Alexa gives are pretty simple, though the Disney one was much more accurate than the to-do list, since the Disney one didn’t exclusively use cursive. I was able to ask questions like, “What days do I need to book Lightning Lane?” and would get an accurate response of which days I’d written down to book my Disney World Lightning Lanes. I wasn’t able to get a fully accurate to-do list; it said things like “set up robot role” instead of my bullet point to “set up robot vac,” and “Unite Alexa Stay” instead of my item to “Write Alexa story.” (Yes, that’s this story.)

It was a solid conversation starter, at least, and gave Alexa a good basis for what I wanted to talk about and handle. I was also able to ask if it thought I was missing anything from my packing list that was exclusively clothes and shoes, and the assistant did flag that I should pack sunscreen, a charger, and a small backpack. It’s correct, but the real thing I need to be reminded to bring is toothpaste. But I’m not sure Alexa can save me from chronically forgetting to bring toothpaste.