Now Anyone Can Create Their Own Personalized Alexa Skill in Just Minutes

Alexa Skill Blueprints is a new way for customers in Canada to create customized Alexa responses and personalized skills

Use simple templates to create your own trivia game, personalized stories, house guest instructions, custom Alexa responses to questions, and more

More than 35 Skill Blueprints are available, and the selection will continue to grow

SEATTLE, Nov. 15, 2018 /CNW/ - Amazon today introduced Alexa Skill Blueprints, a new way to create your own personalized skills and responses for Alexa. Customers in Canada can now choose from a set of more than 35 easy-to-use templates to create customized experiences for Alexa in minutes just by filling in the blanks – no coding required. Whether it's your own answer to the question "Alexa, who is the best mom in the world?" or a skill that offers helpful information for the babysitter, "Alexa, open My Babysitter," Alexa Skill Blueprints allow you to create experiences for Alexa that are personalized to you and help make Alexa even more useful around your home. The skills you create are specially designed for you and your family, and will only appear on the devices registered to your Amazon account.

"Alexa Skill Blueprints is an entirely new way for you to create Alexa personalized skills just for you and your family," said Rob Pulciani, Vice President, Amazon Alexa. "You don't need experience building skills or coding to get started—my family created our own jokes skill in a matter of minutes, and it's been a blast to interact with Alexa in a totally new and personal way."

Using Alexa Skill Blueprints is as easy as filling in the blanks. You can have fun customizing responses to questions like "Alexa, what is the best city?" or "Alexa, who has the best sense of humor?" You can also use Skill Blueprints to create an interactive adventure story with your child as the lead character, "Alexa, start Anna's Story," or create a skill to poke fun at Dad's corny one liners, "Alexa, open Dad Jokes." The skills and responses you create with Alexa Skill Blueprints will be available instantly on the devices associated with your account. You can also share your personal skills through email, text, WhatsApp, or social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest, or with a shareable link. For example, students can create flashcard skills and share with their study group, or families can share their own trivia and quiz other family members.

Getting Started with Alexa Skill Blueprints:
Creating your own Alexa skills and responses is simple. Just follow three easy steps:

• Select your blueprint template by visiting the Alexa Skill Blueprints website: blueprints.amazon.ca. Here you can browse more than 35 Skill Blueprints across four categories including Fun & Games, At Home, Storyteller, and Learning & Knowledge.
• Unleash your creativity. Each blueprint comes with pre-filled content that can be used as-is or customized as you like.
• With just one click your skill will be available on all Alexa-enabled devices associated with your Amazon account.

There is no limit to the number of skills you can create. Need to add even more hilarious jokes to the "Dad Jokes" skill? No problem, because editing is just as simple using the Alexa Skill Blueprints website.

Alexa Skill Blueprints available at launch include:

At Home

• Custom Q&A: Customize Alexa responses to your questions
• Chore Chart: Schedule and track weekly chores for your entire household
• Houseguest: Make your guests feel at home with quick access to important info
• Babysitter: Help your sitter find things, remember steps and get important info
• Pet Sitter: Help your pet sitter care for your favourite animal
• Whose Turn: Figure out whose turn it is to do something by having Alexa choose for you
• Roommate: Help your roommates by providing them with all the important information they should know
• Sidekick: Alexa always has your back with these supportive and funny responses

Fun & Games

• Family Jokes: Create a list of your favourite jokes for when you need a laugh
• Trivia: Create your own multiple choice trivia game on any topic
• Inspirations: Curate a list of your favourite inspirational quotes
• Birthday Trivia: Play to see who knows the birthday girl or boy best
• Burns: Roast your friends and family with lighthearted burns
• Compliments: Flatter your favourites with a list of custom compliments
• First Letter: Play a game of categories starting with a certain letter
• Fortune Teller: Ask Alexa for your fortune to get a glimpse into the future
• Yes No Maybe: Ask Alexa any yes or no question and hear a randomly selected response
• What To Do: Make choices fun and easy by having Alexa randomly choose an item from your list
• Story Quiz: Create a story and test your memory
• Three Word Sort: Train your brain in this topsy-turvy sorting game
• Dad Jokes: Create a list of your favourite dad jokes for when you need a laugh
• Five Item Rush: Score your friends in this wacky categories game

Storyteller

• Adventure: Write an adventure story where your child is the hero
• Fairy Tale: Customize an interactive prince and princess-themed tale
• Sci-Fi: Create an interactive story with a far-out theme
• Fable: Create a short narrative with a moral of the story
• All About Mom: Surprise mom with a personalized story narrated by Alexa
• All About Dad: Surprise dad with a personalized story narrated by Alexa

Learning & Knowledge

• Flash Cards: Study, test yourself, and master any subject by voice
• Facts: Keep a list of facts on your favourite topic, all in one place
• Quiz: Challenge yourself and others with a customizable quiz
• Listening Quiz: Listen and recall with this listening quiz skill

To get started with Alexa Skill Blueprints in Canada visit: blueprints.amazon.ca. For frequently asked questions: blueprints.amazon.ca/help/frequently-asked-questions

About Amazon

Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, and Alexa are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit amazon.com/about and follow @AmazonNews.

SOURCE Amazon Canada

Kristen Schaffrath, NATIONAL Public Relations, [email protected], 416-848-1704