One of the many fun things you can do with an Amazon Echo is to create a morning routine that includes a flash briefing. This flash briefing is designed to serve you up just the news you want to hear without needing to scroll around on your phone. Since it is audio-only, you can listen while you get dressed, while you eat breakfast, or make coffee. Plus, you can also trigger it anytime to get updated during the day. The Sky News briefing, for example, is updated on the hour, every hour.

The flash briefing is completely customizable, in that you can pull in all the sources you want, and leave out the rest. Each source delivers its news briefing just like you might hear on traditional radio. It's a fantastic feature and one you should really give a try. It's also compatible with both the Echo smart speakers and smart displays. Here's how to set up and customize your own Alexa flash briefing.

How to choose your flash briefing news sources

When you're setting up your flash briefing you'll see two different options that sound like the same thing. One is your "news channel" and the other is your flash briefing. The idea is that the latter is a quick hit of the latest headlines, whereas the former is a more in-depth look at the news. Both can be set up in the same way.

To customize your flash briefing you will need to have your phone or tablet handy and the Alexa app open.

1. Tap the more option in the lower right corner.
2. Select Settings.
3. Choose the News option.
4. Tap on Flash Briefing.

This is where you'll dictate which news sources you want present in your flash briefing. You may already have some present depending on the skills you have enabled on your Echo. But if you don't or you want some more, tap the + button to open the directory.

Here you'll find all the Alexa skills that are compatible with the flash briefing in your location. To use them, simply select the one you want and hit Enable to Use. This skill will automatically be added to your flash briefing.

To remove any of your skills from the flash briefing simply toggle their respective buttons to off. This won't remove the skills from Alexa, so you can still use them individually at any time from your Echo.

How to listen to your flash briefing

The easiest way to hear your flash briefing at any time of the day is to simply say to your Echo:

• "Alexa, play my flash briefing."

That's all there is to it. But Alexa is much more powerful than that, and you can build your flash briefing into any of your Alexa Routines. For example, in the morning you could build a routine that plays your alarm on the Echo in your bedroom, turns on your lights, and then plays your flash briefing.

How advanced you get with routines is entirely up to you, but if you want to hear a flash briefing at a specific point of the day, every day, then building it into a routine is the best thing to do.