A grandma went viral after calling for backup when her Alexa wouldn't respond to her commands.
In a viral clip on TikTok posted by @mamajordynn, seemingly the woman's granddaughter, she asks Alexa to play CeCe Winans—the Grammy-award-winning gospel singer—but there's one problem. The grandmother keeps calling her "Alexis," causing the smart speaker not to play the artist as requested. While it's a small error, the device's inability to respond only adds to the humor.
The text overlay reads: "POV you finally come over to see why your grandma's Alexa 'won't work.'"
According to research, older generations commonly struggle to adapt to technology. A 2014 Pew Research Center study showed that 25 percent of adults over 65 feel anxious about using new devices, with many citing confusing interfaces, unfamiliar technology and fear of breaking something as barriers to use.
The clip, posted on November 21, has received 1.5 million views and over 6,400 comments, with many viewers in tears of laughter. Some shared similar mishaps: "I had to rename my grandma's to answer to 'computer,'" one user wrote.
Another commented that her mom calls it Alexis, too. The user also wrote that she refers to the fast-food restaurant Panda Express as "Kung Fu Panda."
Voice assistants, like Alexa, are marketed as intuitive, but their reliance on precise commands can lead to miscommunication, especially for those unaccustomed to AI interactions. As @mamajordynn put it, "Alexis is her new name I guess."
The clip triggered one user who commented on "the trauma." She recalled how she bought her parents a Google Hub. "My dad is real country and be saying, 'Hey Googis,'" they wrote.
Others praised the grandma for her wholesome persistence and took her side. "Now Alexis know she hear granny!" one person joked. "Alexis play that gospel music for grandma. You hear her," another said.
"She made me forget the real name," a commenter wrote.
One viewer shared that their mom did the same thing but one day, Alexa answered to the name Alicia. The original poster replied and said that was one of her grandchildren's names. "She definitely going to call her that one day."
Newsweek reached out to @mamajordynn via email for comment. We could not verify the details of the case.
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