AT&T customers can now send SMS text messages via an Amazon Echo

Even though Google Home has been released, it hasn’t taken much attention away from Amazon’s popular Echo devices. The Amazon Echo and Echo Dot both bring a lot to the table, in many ways more so than Google Home does at this point. Many of the Echo’s popular features are enabled by “Skills,” best described as third-party plugins. Now AT&T has released its own Alexa skill, enabling customers to send texts via an Echo.

The premise here is relatively simple, need to send a text message quickly or when your phone isn’t nearly? Simply use your voice and an Echo. Saying “Alexa, ask AT&T to text [name]” will prompt the assistant to dictate your text message and then send it to the appropriate contact.

The catch, though, is that this is a pretty limited service. You’ll have to pre-program the contacts you want to send messages to through the Alexa app and you’ll be limited to only ten different contacts.

AT&T’s “Send Message” skill is available now through the Amazon Alexa app and works with the Echo and Echo Dot. Hopefully, we’ll see something like this hit Google Home once “Actions on Google” is opened to developers. Jeff Bradley, senior vice president of Device and Network Services Marketing for AT&T had the following to say about the skill.

Amazon Echo is ahead of the curve in terms of voice recognition technology and functionality. AT&T is the first carrier to bring this unique skill to a product already known for innovation. We’re always working to bring simple solutions for our customers to stay in touch. In the tradition of NumberSync, another solution that was introduced at AT&T first, the Send Message Skill gives our customers another easy and convenient way to communicate.