This week Amazon announced it has updated Alexa with an exciting new feature, which puts it way ahead of competitors like Siri and the Google Assistant.
The new Alexa Blueprints lets users build their own customs skills for Alexa. And you don’t even have to know how to code.
Amazon already offers 20+ templates to get you started on the Alexa Blueprints website. Skills are organized into categories like Fun Games, Learning & Knowledge or Storytelling.
Users will be able to do things like creating a multiple-choice trivia game, create and access a personal list of facts or welcome guests with a guide to your home. Handy for those running an Airbnb business.
Alexa has a new, very clever trick up her sleeve
Creating a skill is very easy, so anyone can do it. Just follow the instructions on the Alexa Blueprints websites. Alternatively, you can opt to create your own skill from scratch. New skills will be stored on the Blueprints site from which you can retrieve and edit them.
With this week’s announcement, Amazon has expanded Alexa skill development to everyone, specifically to let you create whatever abilities you wish, based on your needs and preferences.
The feature is currently available only in the US, but we expect it to roll out to more countries soon.
With Alexa Blueprints, Amazon is basically continuing its mission to make the virtual assistant available everywhere and accessible to everyone.
The first step was to sell a range of Echo speakers, all with Alexa baked in. Next, Amazon started bringing Alexa to third-party devices. Now, the tech giant is letting users create their own customized Alexa skills or responses. Without the need to know how to code. The idea of allowing Alexa owners to create their own voice apps will surely make the platform even more attractive. Google and Apple better watch out!
