Surprise Skills: Bet you didn’t know your smart speaker could do all this Consumer Reports Updated: Tags: What can play music, secure your home, organize your household, get you in shape, and help you cook? It’s that smart speaker -- maybe the Amazon Echo, Google Home, or Nest -- that you received for the holidays. Don’t think your new speaker is smarter than you. The experts at Consumer Reports have some tips to help you enlist your smart speaker as your home’s very own personal assistant. If you’re new to the speaker game, start simple by streamlining. Get your morning news, weather briefings and calendar read aloud. Your smart speaker can even walk you through a workout.