Can Alexa Play Songs From YouTube? – (Is It Possible?)

Can Alexa play songs from YouTube? There are ways that will allow you to do it even though the feature is not available natively.

Alexa and YouTube simply don’t work well together. They’re from rival tech giants, so it’s understandable. However, it’s also frustrating.

So, will Alexa play music from YouTube? 

Yes, Alexa is capable of playing music from YouTube, however, it’s not automatic. You need to get the YouTube Skill and link your accounts up to give Alexa permission access to your YouTube account.

Before we discuss how you can command Alexa to play songs from YouTube, here are the important things you should consider. 

Can Alexa Play Songs From YouTube: All You Need to Know

Many people like listening to music on YouTube because it’s free and has millions of tracks.

However, playing music and podcasts from YouTube with an Amazon device isn’t quite easy. Thankfully, it is still possible.

Here’s what you need to know first. 

✅ Connect Alexa to a Speaker

You’ll need to pair your phone or tablet to your Alexa device. You may hear that Alexa couldn’t find any device to pair with, but don’t worry. 

✅ Get the YouTube Skill

Add a skill to your Alexa device to give you more control when playing music from YouTube.

The most full-featured Alexa skill you can get is Alexa-YouTube. 

✅ Playback on Compatible Devices

Amazon is unlikely to add direct support for YouTube playback to its Alexa devices. But you can ask Alexa to play songs from YouTube with compatible third-party devices. 

✅ Voice Commands

You can use various commands for Alexa to play songs from YouTube. You can ask Alexa to open YouTube on your speaker or command her with any video choice. 

These are everything you need to know about Alexa playing songs from YouTube. Now, let’s move on to the actual steps of the workaround. 

Will Alexa Play Music From YouTube

The biggest difference between YouTube and other music streaming platforms is that most of YouTube Music’s library is free.

Unfortunately, Alexa does not support YouTube natively so you won’t be able to enjoy all the features.

Don’t get me wrong, you can still play music from YouTube, it will need a few extra steps on your end to get it to work.

We’ll tell you everything you need to know and the steps to get YouTube to work with your Alexa.

Can Amazon Alexa Play Songs from YouTube

As you’ve realized by now, you can’t play songs directly from YouTube via Amazon Alexa.

Technically, Alexa doesn’t support the platform natively because their parent companies don’t want to play nice with each other.

However, there’s a ray of hope in all of this as there are different ways you can enable this.

There are a few steps involved, but you’ll certainly manage to get Alexa to work with YouTube Music.

Here’s what you need to know about Alexa and YouTube:

1. Alexa doesn’t support YouTube playback natively.
2. There are workarounds available.
3. Perform additional steps to make this setup work.

Pro Tip: As an alternative, you can listen to other music streaming services as Alexa works well with those.

What Music Streaming Service Does Alexa Support

Since you know that Alexa does not support YouTube natively, you might wonder if there are other streaming services you can use.

The good news is that there are a lot of alternative services that will provide you with a more seamless experience with Alexa. 

Using these services will allow you to interface with them using Alexa right away. You won’t need to install additional software to make it work.

Here are other streaming services that Alexa supports natively:

1. Amazon Music 
2. Prime Music 
3. Apple Music 
4. Spotify 
5. Pandora

Can You Make Alexa Play Songs from YouTube

Even though Alexa doesn’t support YouTube natively, you can still get it to work.

You might be more familiar with YouTube’s music platform and it’s your top choice. There is a way to integrate it with Alexa.

You do need to perform a few additional steps to get everything in order.

There are third-party apps that will help you connect Alexa and YouTube so you can use voice commands and link them with other Alexa-enabled devices.

Here’s what you need to know if you can get Alexa to play songs from YouTube:

1. Need to use an Alexa-compatible device.
2. Get the third-party YouTube skill.
3. Link Alexa with your YouTube account.

Note: To know the exact steps to get Alexa to work with YouTube, all you need to do is follow the details below.

Set up a Compatible Device

Now that you know you can get Alexa to work with YouTube, it’s time to figure out how to do it.

Like we mentioned, there are a few extra steps that you need to take to get it up and running. One of the most important requirements is that you need to use a compatible device.

By device, we mean you need to have an Echo or Fire TV that can act as a go between Alexa and YouTube.

You need to link your device to your Amazon account so Alexa can connect to YouTube.

Here’s how to setup a compatible device for Alexa and YouTube:

1. On the Alexa app on your phone, sign into your Amazon account.
2. Select the Devices menu and tap on the Amazon device.
3. Go to Settings, then Account Settings.
4. Tap on Amazon Account.
5. Select Sign in with Amazon and enter your account details.

Note: Devices you can do this with include Fire TVs, Fire Tablets, or Echo speakers.

Get the Alexa YouTube Skill

After setting up your Alexa device and linking it with your Amazon account, it’s now time to do the same on YouTube’s end.

You’ll also need to link your device to the platform, but it’s not as straightforward as you expect.

To do this successfully, you’re going to rely on a third-party Alexa skill that should act as the bridge for your Amazon device to connect to YouTube.

Here’s how to set up the YouTube Alexa Skill on your device:

1. Open the Alexa app on your phone.
2. Tap on the More icon at the bottom and go to Skills and Games.
3. Search for YouTube and install it.
4. Select Enable, then sign in to your YouTube account.

Tip: Since the YouTube skill is a third-party app, it may not provide you with the same level of functionality as the official app.

How to Command Alexa to Play Songs from YouTube

Now that you have set everything up, you can now use Alexa to play music from YouTube via a compatible device.

It’s now possible to give it commands so it searches and plays your favorite music for free using YouTube Music. 

It’s not just playing music, but with the skill and accounts linked up, you will be able to control your music with your voice.

You can also use Alexa to play your favorite playlist, play the next songs, and even navigate through the timestamps. 

Here’s how to command Alexa for YouTube:

1. Alexa, play YouTube on [device name]
2. Alexa, play [name of playlist] on YouTube 
3. Alexa, play [name of video] on YouTube
4. Alexa, play or pause current video
5. Alexa, go back or go forward by [number of seconds]

Note: This feature is not only limited to YouTube Music, but also to YouTube videos.

As long as you follow these carefully, you will be able to set up Alexa in such a way that it can recognize and control YouTube.

It does take a few extra steps, but if you’re a big YouTube user and have Alexa, this is going to help you out and make your life a lot easier.

Bottom Line

Can Alexa play songs from YouTube? On its own, Alexa won’t be able to interface with YouTube.

However with the right tools and software, you can get Alexa to work and control YouTube.

If you run into any issues with setting up, you can always contact Amazon customer support to ask for assistance with linking your accounts to your device.

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