You’ve heard about the wonders of voice technology. Maybe you want to build a voice experience for fun or to make a profit. Whatever the reason, you’ll eventually come to the point where you’ll need to learn the basics of creating Alexa skills and then publish them.
Well, first let’s explain two important details that need to be clear for such a process:
- What are Alexa Skills?
- Can I build Alexa skills without coding?
What are Alexa Skills?
Skills are like apps for Alexa, similar to those you have on your smartphone. They make it possible for users to do anything they would do with a keyboard or touchscreen on another device but with voice commands instead.
Anyone can take the road of creating Alexa Skills now. You don’t even have to know how to code. With Alexa Skill Blueprints, there are dozens of templates just waiting for customization based on your specific needs. This option is great for individuals who want to publish their own Alexa skill or put it in the Alexa Skill store for other people to use.
For brands and businesses with more specific needs, the best option would be to hire an agency to design and build your voice experience. These agencies will have the knowledge and know-how to create Alexa skills that fit your needs.
The FAQ’s when creating Alexa Skills
1.How do Alexa skills work?
Creating Alexa skills comes in two parts: an interaction model and application logic. The interaction models use voice user interface to process customer speech. Artificial intelligence is the leading technology used, using the Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) and Natural Language Understanding (NLU) components. Alexa is a cloud-based AI. When the AI gets a request from a user, it sends it to your skill application logic. You can host your logic on a cloud service offered by Amazon, your own server, or another provider.
2. How do I start building Alexa Skills?
You’ll need a developer account and an AWS account to host your back end. Though it’s not necessary to host your skill infrastructure on AWS, it will make things much easier for you to get the hang of things. You can always switch it later if you need!
With Ipervox however, it is much simpler. All you will need is the developer account, which you can do by following these steps.
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3. What type of Alexa Skill can I create?
If you have an existing product, you can create an Alexa skill to maintain contact with your customers or expand your reach to this new and existing market. Examples of products that lend themselves well to voice include apps, games, flash briefings, and music. Podcasts, videos, smart home control, and more can be offered through an Alexa skill. For more inspiration you can always check these case studies from Alexa.
4. How to monetize my Alexa Skill?
Amazon Alexa skills can be monetized through in-skill purchasing, meaning customers can pay for premium experiences on a subscription basis or one time purchase. You can also offer services that are quickly consumable or depletable, like exchanging in game currency or premium content for small payments. If you already have a web service that accepts payments, then you can use account linking to make your voice apps work for you.
5. How to make my Alexa Skill public?
Once your skill is built and ready for certification, submit it to the Alexa Skills Store. If your skill passes certification, it will be published and available for any user to enable. For more details, you can check out this blog post from Amazon Alexa. Here you can learn how to pass certification the first time. You can also check this video tutorial for more information.
6. What if I want to use programming languages?
With Alexa, you can make a skill in any programming language like or have knowledge. The Alexa Skills Kit includes SDKs for Node.js, Python, and Java, so you can focus on what you want to do on your skill instead of spending time worrying about coding. As for Ipervox, even if we offer and suggest a no-code/low code Alexa skill development method. However, you will still have the available option to do it traditionally: using programming languages.
Building an Alexa Skill in the simplest way possible
Using Ipervox, both individuals and businesses can easily make their products and services accessible on the most popular voice assistants, such as Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant. It’s quick, easy, and helps your business grow.
With us, you can create an Alexa Skill and use it for monetization, user engagement, growth & awareness, voice marketing, voice shopping, customer support, and much more. It all depends on what you and your business need. Also, you will have all of our support regarding the voice design of your Alexa Skill, the go-to-market strategy, and promoting it effectively.
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Top Most Frequently Asked Questions About Creating Alexa Skills was originally published in Chatbots Life on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.