{"id":71860,"date":"2019-05-06T12:49:28","date_gmt":"2019-05-06T12:49:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/?p=71860"},"modified":"2020-08-31T17:54:25","modified_gmt":"2020-08-31T17:54:25","slug":"create-alexa-skill-step-by-step","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/create-alexa-skill-step-by-step\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Create a Skill for Amazon Alexa?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s2\">Alexa is the virtual assistant created by Amazon \u2013 a phenomenal example of conversational Artificial Intelligence (AI). Alexa is now compatible with a host of smart devices and this technical collaboration is making human life seamlessly easier. The biggest advantage that one can attribute to Alexa\u2019s smooth integration into our lives is that Alexa has under her Amazon Prime and Amazon Music and of course it has to its fame the largest online retailer in the world.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s2\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/amazon-alexa\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Amazon Alexa<\/a> is the new genie of this era. \u201cYour wish is her command.\u201d This AI assistant is leveraging its technical base and becoming more and more resourceful with time. Who knows, soon Alexa will become an indispensable part of our lives? It is so easy to sit back on the sofa, and just order Alexa to \u2018play a song\u2019, to redirect us to news, to narrate stories to our children or to just help us with recommendations. The list is endless but the possibilities with Alexa are infinite.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Try Now: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/aws-certified-alexa-skill-builder-specialty\/free-test\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">AWS Certified Alexa Skill Builder Specialty Free Test<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h2>Building a Custom Amazon Alexa Skill<\/h2>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s2\">The growing popularity of Alexa can be easily gauged by the mushrooming growth of Alexa skills recently. Alexa has approximately 70,000 certified skills. Think of anything, some creative mind is already working to create that skill for Alexa. There are two ways to create an Amazon Alexa skill i.e. create Alexa skill with Amazon Skill Blueprints and create Alexa skill with Alexa Skill Kit (ASK). Let&#8217;s get into the details.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s1\">Create Alexa Skill with Amazon Alexa Skill Blueprints<\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s2\">Creating a skill for Alexa may sound like a Herculean task, and might scare the masses who suffer from \u2018code-phobia\u2019 but with the release of \u2018Alexa Skill Blueprints\u2019 creating customized skills and voice responses has become a cakewalk for all of us. We just have to start.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s2\">Amazon Alexa Skill Blueprints has become quite extensive with approximately 30,000 skills. There are a plethora of options of skills one can choose from. The different genres being as follows:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul class=\"ul1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s2\">Business and Finance<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s2\">Communication<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s2\">Connected Car<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s2\">Education and Reference<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s2\">Food and Drink<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s2\">Game and Trivia<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s2\">Health and Fitness<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s2\">Home Services<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s2\">Kids<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s2\">Lifestyle<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s2\">Local<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s2\">Movies &amp; TV<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s2\">Music and Audio<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s2\">News<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s2\">Novelty and Humour<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s2\">Productivity<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s2\">Social<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s2\">Shopping<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s2\">Smart Home<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s2\">Sports<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s2\">Travel and Transportation<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s2\">Utilities<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s2\">Weather<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Also Read: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/top-alexa-skills\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Top 7 Alexa Skills<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s2\">A simple framework of creating a skill using Alexa Skill Blueprints is as follows:<\/span><\/p>\n<ol class=\"ol1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s2\">Guide to making a skill<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s2\">Guide to using a skill<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s2\">\u2018Inspirational\u2019 skill<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s2\"> Naming a skill<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s2\">All the above four steps can be completed effortlessly within minutes, and anyone can do it. Amazon has numerous templates to aid the skill makers \u2013 like household chores list, customized games, and personalized quizzes and many more.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s2\">So, let\u2019s get started with Amazon Skills Blueprints.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"s2\"><strong>1. Sign into Amazon Blueprints:<\/strong> Visit <a href=\"http:\/\/www.blueprints.amazon.in\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span class=\"s4\">www.blueprints.amazon.in<\/span><\/a><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>and log in using your Amazon credentials.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-71862\" src=\"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/amazon-blueprints1.png\" alt=\"Amazon Blueprints\" width=\"831\" height=\"618\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/amazon-blueprints1.png 855w, https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/amazon-blueprints1-300x223.png 300w, https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/amazon-blueprints1-768x571.png 768w, https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/amazon-blueprints1-565x420.png 565w, https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/amazon-blueprints1-80x60.png 80w, https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/amazon-blueprints1-100x75.png 100w, https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/amazon-blueprints1-180x135.png 180w, https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/amazon-blueprints1-238x178.png 238w, https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/amazon-blueprints1-640x476.png 640w, https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/amazon-blueprints1-681x507.png 681w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 831px) 100vw, 831px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"s2\"><strong>2. Choose which kind of skill you wish to design:<\/strong> The different categories available to users right now are:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span class=\"s2\">Fun &amp; Games<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"s2\">Learning and Knowledge<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span class=\"s2\">At Home<\/span><\/li>\n<li>Storyteller<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-71863\" src=\"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/amazon-blueprints2.png\" alt=\"Fun &amp; Games\" width=\"812\" height=\"554\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/amazon-blueprints2.png 849w, https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/amazon-blueprints2-300x205.png 300w, https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/amazon-blueprints2-768x524.png 768w, https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/amazon-blueprints2-616x420.png 616w, https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/amazon-blueprints2-640x436.png 640w, https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/amazon-blueprints2-681x464.png 681w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 812px) 100vw, 812px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-71864 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/amazon-blueprints3.png\" alt=\"Learning &amp; Knowledge\" width=\"721\" height=\"568\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/amazon-blueprints3.png 721w, https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/amazon-blueprints3-300x236.png 300w, https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/amazon-blueprints3-533x420.png 533w, https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/amazon-blueprints3-640x504.png 640w, https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/amazon-blueprints3-681x536.png 681w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 721px) 100vw, 721px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-71865\" src=\"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/amazon-blueprints4.png\" alt=\"Storyteller\" width=\"787\" height=\"328\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/amazon-blueprints4.png 775w, https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/amazon-blueprints4-300x125.png 300w, https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/amazon-blueprints4-768x320.png 768w, https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/amazon-blueprints4-640x267.png 640w, https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/amazon-blueprints4-681x284.png 681w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 787px) 100vw, 787px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong><span class=\"s2\"><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">3. <\/span><\/span><\/strong><span class=\"s2\"><strong>Selecting the right template:<\/strong> Now, under each category, one has to choose a template.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p5\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s2\">For example, if one has chosen the \u2018Fun &amp; Games\u2019 category, then one can choose \u2018Trivia\u2019 as the template.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-71866\" src=\"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/trivia-template.png\" alt=\"Sample Trivia Template\" width=\"680\" height=\"580\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/trivia-template.png 623w, https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/trivia-template-300x256.png 300w, https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/trivia-template-493x420.png 493w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s2\"><strong>4. Click on \u2018Make Your Own\u2019 button:<\/strong> There are already a host of pre-populated questions and responses available with blueprints. One can edit these questions, or add as may be necessary. <\/span><span class=\"s2\">Click on the \u2018Add Q &amp; A\u2019 button at the end of the page to add more questions to the trivia if required.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-71868 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/customize-your-skill.png\" alt=\"Using your skill\" width=\"645\" height=\"376\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/customize-your-skill.png 645w, https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/customize-your-skill-300x175.png 300w, https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/customize-your-skill-640x373.png 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 645px) 100vw, 645px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"s2\"><strong>5. Click on the Next:<\/strong> Experience button once you are done with adding all the questions for the trivia.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p5\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s2\">Once, there, you can customize the Introduction that will be displayed when the trivia starts, personalize player greetings and the different game and winner responses.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"s2\"><strong>6. Click on the Next:<\/strong> Name button to change the name of the trivia.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-71867 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/customize-the-experience.png\" alt=\"Customize the experience\" width=\"642\" height=\"573\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/customize-the-experience.png 642w, https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/customize-the-experience-300x268.png 300w, https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/customize-the-experience-471x420.png 471w, https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/customize-the-experience-640x571.png 640w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 642px) 100vw, 642px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"s2\"><strong>7. Click on the Next:<\/strong> Create Skill Button, Amazon will ask you to register for a developer\u2019s account unless you already have one. This is mandatory in case you want to make or publish a skill.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-71869 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/naming-your-skill.png\" alt=\"name skill\" width=\"701\" height=\"279\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/naming-your-skill.png 701w, https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/naming-your-skill-300x119.png 300w, https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/naming-your-skill-640x255.png 640w, https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/naming-your-skill-681x271.png 681w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 701px) 100vw, 701px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"s2\">Here, you need to click on Update Account button to proceed with the publishing of the skills. It generally takes a few minutes to publish the skill. Once, it is published it will look like the screen below:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-71870 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/custom-amazon-alexa-skill.png\" alt=\"Custom Amazon Alexa Skill\" width=\"609\" height=\"399\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/custom-amazon-alexa-skill.png 609w, https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/custom-amazon-alexa-skill-300x197.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 609px) 100vw, 609px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s2\">Spot the green bar on the top of the page, indicating that the skill is published. There will be buttons available now that will enable you to edit or delete the skill you created.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s2\">You can also share your skills with your friends. To do this navigate to the \u2018Skills You\u2019ve Made\u2019 page and choose which skill you would like to share and then share it with others by clicking on the \u2018Share With Others\u2019 in the \u2018Your Skill Actions\u2019 box.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Amazon Alexa and Google Home are the two most popular AI assistants, let&#8217;s find out which one is better: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/google-home-vs-amazon-alexa\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Amazon Alexa vs Google Home<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h3 class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s1\">Create Alexa Skill with Alexa Skill Kit (ASK<\/span><span class=\"s2\">)<\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s2\"> Alexa can receive, perceive and respond to a wide variety of questions from users. Curating to-do-lists, setting alarms for the morning or providing weather forecasts are the commonly known \u2018Alexa Skills.\u2019 This basically implies that each Alexa skill is actually a functional app that is driven by voice input. Though there are numerous built-in skills for Alexa, through Alexa Skill Kit, developers get the opportunity to be as creative as possible in designing and programming new custom skills for Alexa.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s2\">The Alexa Skill Kit (ASK) consists of a pool of APIs and other tools that helps in handling the voice-interface related functions like speech recognition and text-to-speech translation. ASK is a boon to developers as it is quite user-friendly and helps them build the skills swiftly and without much delay. Now, within minutes, a personalized voice command can get transformed into an Alexa skill.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s2\">A device compatible or integrated with Alexa is the required interface between the user and the Alexa Skill which is triggered by the invocation of \u2018Alexa.\u2019<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>For example, \u201cAlexa, tell me about my family\u201d which will activate the \u201cMy Family\u201d skill. Once activated, the user can engage with Alexa through voice requests or commands as the situation may be.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s2\">The two components of the Alexa Skill Kit are:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul class=\"ul1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s2\">Skill Interface<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s2\">Skill Service<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4 class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s2\">The Skill Interface<\/span><\/h4>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s2\">The Skill Interface is responsible for effectively processing all voice-related inputs and mapping them correctly to the right intent in the interaction model. Intents are actions that are supposed to be done as a response to the spoken requests or commands from the user. There is at least one particular word, or a phrase or a sentence that is always used to trigger the required intent. A JSON encoded event is created by the ASK skill interface once a particular intent is detected and after this, it is handled by the Skill Service.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4 class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s2\">The Skill Service <\/span><\/h4>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s2\">The response to JSON encoded event is decided by ASK\u2019s Skill Service. The action to be taken is transferred to the skill interface through another JSON encoded response. Then this response is processed effectively and finally, the response in the form of speech is sent back to the user through an Alexa compatible device like the Echo.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_71871\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-71871\" style=\"width: 509px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-71871\" src=\"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/amazon-skill-kit.png\" alt=\"Amazon Skill Kit\" width=\"509\" height=\"212\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/amazon-skill-kit.png 420w, https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/amazon-skill-kit-300x125.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 509px) 100vw, 509px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-71871\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A schematic representation of the Amazon Skill Kit<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s2\">The prerequisite to implementing the Alexa Skill Interface is to have an account with Amazon\u2019s Developers Services (ADS). Unless you have this you cannot develop the skill and its interaction model. (Creating an ADS account is absolutely free of charge)<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s2\">Most of the times developers prefer to use Amazon Web Services (AWS) to develop the required skill. Setting up an AWS account is generally time-consuming as it involves many verification procedures. Also, there is a cost involved for setting up this account which is approximately dollar one.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s2\"><b>Setting up a skill: <\/b>My Favourite Author<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s2\"><b>Purpose: <\/b>Once invoked, Alexa will list down my favorite author and ask me whose quotes I would like to hear.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s2\">Let us have a basic overview of building skill with ASK.<\/span><\/p>\n<ol class=\"ol2\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s2\">Log in to Amazon Developers Services and select Alexa.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s2\">Click or press on the \u2018Start a Skill\u2019 button.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s2\">Click on the \u2018Create Skill\u2019<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>button<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>to go to the \u2018Create a New Skill Form\u2019<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s2\">Type in the desired skill name in the \u2018skill-name field\u2019 and then choose Custom. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p class=\"p5\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s2\">For example, for the skill we are planning to design we can use the name \u2013 \u2018My Favourite Author\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"s2\">1. Click on the button \u2018Create Skill\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n<h4 class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s2\">PART A: Development of the Interaction Model<\/span><\/h4>\n<p class=\"p6\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s2\">The most integral part of building Alexa\u2019s skill is the interaction model. It consists of the following things:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul class=\"ul1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s2\">Skill Invocation Name<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s2\">Intents<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s2\">Utterances<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s2\">We click on the \u201cInvocations Tab\u201d and enter the desired skill name in the \u201cSkill Invocation Name\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s2\">(For example, we can put \u201cFavourite Author\u201d in our case)<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s2\">We need four types of intents generally to manage the interaction with Alexa.<\/span><\/p>\n<ol class=\"ol1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s2\">An intent to take care of the voice-request or voice-command.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s2\">An intent to deal with voice requests that interrupts the interaction or with which the user refuses to respond<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s2\">An intent that takes care of user voice request which has no match with any utterances.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s2\">An intent that is responsible for handling the user\u2019s speech request for Help.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s2\">ASK has a huge library with pre-defined intents and their corresponding utterances, so mostly we just have to create just one intends to deal with the custom voice-input.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s2\">After the creation of the intents, we have to create a corresponding utterance.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s2\">Note: It is important to save and build the model to progress further.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4 class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s2\">PART B: Selecting the Endpoints<\/span><\/h4>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s2\">To implement the skill set, it is imperative to use a web service or AWS.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Using AWS is more popular as it makes use of the AWS Lambda function.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s2\">Steps:<\/span><\/p>\n<ol class=\"ol2\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s2\">Click on \u2018Endpoints\u2019<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s2\">Choose the \u201cAWS Lambda function\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s2\"><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>The skill and the skill ID are important parameters to the AWS Lambda function when we need to connect to AWS Lambda with skill interface. The \u201cEndpoints\u201d section contains the skill ID.<\/span><\/p>\n<h4 class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s2\">PART C: Designing the AWS Lambda Function<\/span><\/h4>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s2\">It is important to build and configure the AWS function to finish skill creation. The input to the lambda function is events and it returns responses to the \u2018skill interface.\u2019<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>Events have the required information to deal with different kinds of requests. The different kinds of requests are:<\/span><\/p>\n<ol class=\"ol1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s2\"><strong>Launch Request &#8211;<\/strong> This request is embedded within the event and sent to the Lambda when the user activates the skill by calling it through its \u2018invocation\u2019 number.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s2\"><strong>Intent Request &#8211;<\/strong> This too is embedded within an event and sent to the Lambda function when the user starts interacting with the skill when his voice inputs get mapped to the corresponding intent. <\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s2\"><strong>SessionEndedRequest &#8211;<\/strong> This is sent to the Lambda function when the session ends abruptly due to an error.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p class=\"p5\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s2\">There are three general cases when the session ends abruptly:<\/span><\/p>\n<ol class=\"ol3\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s2\">When the user requests to \u2018exit.\u2019<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s2\">When the user does not respond even though the device is active and listening.<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"li1\"><span class=\"s2\">When the user makes a voice request but it has no corresponding matching intent.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h4 class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s2\">Testing the Built Skills <\/span><\/h4>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s2\">After the skill is built and is ready-to-use, we can easily test the outcome of the skill developed by testing it with an Alexa enabled device like Amazon Echo.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Thinking to purchase a smart speaker for yourself? Choose one of these <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/best-smart-speakers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Top 5 Smart Speakers<\/a> and make your life easy.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h3 class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s2\">Final Words<\/span><\/h3>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s2\">Alexa has successfully infiltrated our lives. The list of commands for Alexa seems to be growing at an exponential rate. The ease with which we can customize Alexa clearly depicts that the growth and popularity curve of Alexa is a steeply rising one. A combination of synthetic imagination and creative imagination will open up such powerful skills of Alexa that we will truly appreciate the importance as well as the dominance of Artificial Intelligence in our lives.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s2\">We have to understand that skills that Alexa possess today might become redundant tomorrow. So, re-skilling Alexa is equally imperative to be in the competition with its other competitors that are known as well as those which might emerge anytime. Time will prove how the humans wake up to the call of \u2018Alexa\u2019 further.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Being an Alexa Skill Builder brings a number of opportunities but the competition is not less here. So, if you are an Alexa Skill Builder, give your recognize your skills with the Alexa Skill Builder Specialty certification and stand out from your competitors. Try our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/aws-certified-alexa-skill-builder-specialty\/practice-tests\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">AWS Certified Alexa Skill Builder Specialty practice tests<\/a> to test your preparation and become confident to pass the exam in the first attempt.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Alexa is the virtual assistant created by Amazon \u2013 a phenomenal example of conversational Artificial Intelligence (AI). Alexa is now compatible with a host of smart devices and this technical collaboration is making human life seamlessly easier. The biggest advantage that one can attribute to Alexa\u2019s smooth integration into our lives is that Alexa has under her Amazon Prime and Amazon Music and of course it has to its fame the largest online retailer in the world. Amazon Alexa is the new genie of this era. \u201cYour wish is her command.\u201d This AI assistant is leveraging its technical base and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":71884,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[1956,1953,1952,1954,1951,1955],"class_list":["post-71860","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aws-certifications","tag-alexa-skill","tag-alexa-skill-blueprints","tag-alexa-skill-kit","tag-building-a-custom-amazon-alexa-skill","tag-creating-a-skill-for-alexa","tag-skill-for-alexa"],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Custom_Amazon_Alexa_Skill.png",600,315,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Custom_Amazon_Alexa_Skill-150x150.png",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Custom_Amazon_Alexa_Skill-300x158.png",300,158,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Custom_Amazon_Alexa_Skill.png",600,315,false],"large":["https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Custom_Amazon_Alexa_Skill.png",600,315,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Custom_Amazon_Alexa_Skill.png",600,315,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Custom_Amazon_Alexa_Skill.png",600,315,false],"profile_24":["https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Custom_Amazon_Alexa_Skill.png",24,13,false],"profile_48":["https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Custom_Amazon_Alexa_Skill.png",48,25,false],"profile_96":["https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Custom_Amazon_Alexa_Skill.png",96,50,false],"profile_150":["https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Custom_Amazon_Alexa_Skill.png",150,79,false],"profile_300":["https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Custom_Amazon_Alexa_Skill.png",300,158,false],"tptn_thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Custom_Amazon_Alexa_Skill-250x250.png",250,250,true],"web-stories-poster-portrait":["https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Custom_Amazon_Alexa_Skill.png",600,315,false],"web-stories-publisher-logo":["https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Custom_Amazon_Alexa_Skill.png",96,50,false],"web-stories-thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Custom_Amazon_Alexa_Skill.png",150,79,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Pavan Gumaste","author_link":"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/author\/pavan\/"},"uagb_comment_info":5,"uagb_excerpt":"Alexa is the virtual assistant created by Amazon \u2013 a phenomenal example of conversational Artificial Intelligence (AI). Alexa is now compatible with a host of smart devices and this technical collaboration is making human life seamlessly easier. The biggest advantage that one can attribute to Alexa\u2019s smooth integration into our lives is that Alexa has&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71860","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71860"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71860\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":72229,"href":"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71860\/revisions\/72229"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/71884"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71860"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71860"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.whizlabs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71860"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}