A reminder app you talk to — what it does today and what is coming.A reminder app you talk to — what it does today and what is coming.

A reminder has two parts. First, capturing it: getting “call the insurer before the 15th” out of your head and into something that will not forget. Second, delivery: being told at the right moment without having to look.

Most people lose reminders at the first part. The thought comes while driving, cooking or finishing a call, and setting it up on a phone takes too many taps. By the time delivery would matter, there is nothing to deliver.

Capture is where Hey Alix is strong right now. You say the thing as you would to a person: “remind me about the contract on Monday”, “in a week, check whether Reed paid the deposit”, “Thursday at ten, meeting with Mrs. Fox”. The assistant understands the date, reads the entry back and saves it after your “yes”.

Delivery today is on request. Ask “what do I have today?” in the morning and you hear every task and meeting for the day. Ask “what is overdue?” and you hear what slipped. Many people make this the first question of the day; it takes less than a minute.

Proactive reminders are planned: the assistant will start the conversation itself when a task comes due, when a client has been waiting for your answer, or when a meeting is an hour away. Apps for iOS and Android are planned too, as is calling the assistant hands-free through CarPlay.

None of this is available yet and there is no date to give. If this is the feature you need, the waitlist is the way to hear about it first. Everything you set now — dated tasks and meetings — is exactly what those reminders will work from.

Today Hey Alix does not send push notifications, play alarms or ring at a set time. If you need a sound at 7:15 tomorrow, use your phone's alarm.

It does not send reminders by email — it does not send email at all — and it does not remind your customers of their appointments or contact anyone for you. It speaks only with you.

Because a reminder in Hey Alix is not a floating alert. “Call Mrs. Fox back tomorrow at nine” is attached to Mrs. Fox, next to the note about what she asked. When you get to it, you can ask where things were left and make the call prepared.

And because saying it is fast enough that you will actually do it. A dated task you can ask about is worth more than a perfect notification you never set up. In the car, speak parked or hands-free between visits, and follow your local road rules.