How to enable Alexa person and package announcements on an Echo speaker

Echo Show smart displays can now automatically show you when there is a person or package spotted by your security camera. | Photo Illustration by Grayson Blackmon / The Verge

You may already be used to telling your Alexa smart speaker what to do: play your Spotify playlist, set a timer for the hard-boiled eggs, turn on your smart lights. But you might not know that the voice assistant has a number of proactive features - things it can do without being prompted.

One such feature is having an Amazon Echo speaker announce when motion is detected on a compatible security camera. Motion announcements work on a large number of Alexa-compatible cameras and, as of last week, that includes Google Nest's newest cameras. But now, thanks to a recent update, Echo speakers can also announce when a smart camera sees a person or, on some devices, a package. Plus, it can also automatically show a live feed from that security...

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