The Amazon Echo has become one of the key pieces of creating a smart home. From its ease of obtaining information to integration with dozens of other products, the Echo is getting more powerful all the time.

Your Echo is pretty great out of the box, but there's one setting disabled by default that certainly shouldn't be. Whenever you say "Alexa" to your Echo, it acknowledges that it heard you by lighting up. However, you're not going to be able to see the lights if your Echo is tucked in a corner, or if you're busy with some other task.

That's where the audio acknowledgment setting comes in. Open your Alexa app, and on the left sidebar, tap Settings. Tap the name of your device at the top of the list to open its settings, then select Sounds & Notifications.

At the bottom of this menu, you'll see the Request Sounds header. This contains two settings — the first plays a sound when you say "Alexa", and the second plays a sound when you're done speaking. If you need something to ask Alexa, check out the goofiest questions you can run by her.

This sounds small, and it's a minor detail, but it helps out greatly. When you can't see your Echo, or if you're not sure that it heard you, that little chime lets you know that you're not speaking to thin air. A little confirmation is always a good thing!

If you're thinking about getting an Echo, but are confused by the different types, have a look at our comparison of Echo models.

Do you like hearing a tone to ensure Alexa heard you, or do you get by without it? Let us know your favorite part of the Echo in the comments!

Image Credit: pathdoc via Shutterstock