Alexa: Alexa will now offer advice on periods to UK teenagers, here’s how – Times of India

Conversations around menstruation can still make parents and teenagers feel slightly uncomfortable. However, they do need some good insights on this before entering into a new phase of life and making decisions about their health. While the issue persists, Amazon UK has trained Alexa, its virtual assistant technology on how to give advice to manage periods, the e-commerce company said.
The guide has been formed taking insights from British teens, who have identified the most prominent issues faced by teenagers while undergoing the menstruation phase. This has been supported by another research which was conducted with over 1,000 families with teenagers, commissioned by Amazon with an aim to understand why families are “embarrassed to openly discuss periods.”
In order to develop new experience, Amazon partnered period poverty charity Freedom4Girls, to utilise its research guides to teach Alexa on subjects that includes period poverty and where families with low income can have access to period products in the UK.
When a user requests information on periods, Alexa will answer by seeking information from the UK National Health Service (NHS) website.
“It’s so important that teenagers and parents alike can communicate with each other properly about periods. Whether you’re embarking on your first menstrual cycle, or if you’re helping someone you know prepare for their experience,” said Tina Leslie, founder of Freedom4Girls.
The UK residents can now use Alexa to help guide these conversations about periods through a series of utterances. This comes as nearly two thirds (65%) claim that having easier access to quality information around periods would make them more comfortable having these types of conversations with their family.
Meanwhile, 80% still believe that having open conversations with family members reduces embarrassment and stigma of such sensitive subjects.
For those seeking clarity around the subject of periods and menstruation, you can ask Alexa the below questions:
“Alexa, what is regular period pain?”
“Alexa, can periods affect my mental health?”
“Alexa, how do you use period pads?”
“Alexa, what is a typical age to start your period?”
“Alexa, what are reusable period products?”
“Alexa, where can I get free period products?”
“Alexa, are reusable period products cheaper?”
“Alexa can now act as a tool to help families navigate challenging conversations around menstruation” said Dennis Stansbury, UK Country Manager for Alexa. “The hope is that having useful and relevant information available on Alexa via voice will encourage an open environment for these discussions.”