How To Create Your Own Skills for Amazon Echo Speakers

The feature lets Amazon Echo users easily create new skills for the device without knowing any coding.

Echo Dot 2017 (left) and the Echo Dot 2018 (right)

(Photo: The Quint)

Amazon claims to be doing well with its Echo range of speakers in India, all thanks to its catalogue of skills. The company has joined hands with players like Uber, Zomato and various news houses to offer a unique, voice-centric experience for users. But most of the use case is limited to music, news and games, as highlighted by Amazon a few months back.

Keeping this in mind, it has introduced a unique way for Amazon users to create their own skills that can be uploaded to the server and put to use on their own Echo speakers in no time.

So how can you and I create skills, especially those who don’t have any coding or developer expertise? Well, it’s easier than you’d imagine, and here’s what you need to do it right away.

Just invoke Alexa and say: “Alexa, tell me about Alexa Blueprints.” Once you’ve triggered the wake word, follow these steps.

• Go to blueprints.amazon.in and select template for skill
• Choose from over 30 skill blueprints across categories like Fun and Games, Learning and Knowledge and Storyteller among others
• You get pre-filled content for each blueprint that can be customised
• Sign in with an Amazon account and the skill created will be available on all your Echo devices

Ready to make skills for your Echo?(Photo: Amazon Blueprints)

You can even check out this video that explains how a skill can be created by a user.

Skills form the core usage of Echo speakers. It’s a form of app that works in the voice interface ecosystem. Amazon claims to have over 15,000 skills available for the Indian market but the use cases are mostly limited for now.

With the Skill Blueprints, people can also create routines or even set up a template to guide them around their houses. Amazon has pointed out that a user can create unlimited personalised skills and share it for use as a link with family and friends via email, text, WhatsApp or social media including Facebook and Twitter.

It is possible that more features will get added to Skills Blueprints in the near future, but users will play a big role in its growth. Sounds like a smart way to engage users and get them to actively use the smart speaker.