Amazon, Alexa, and all related marks are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.
It's important to talk about Alexa and third party (3P) devices with Alexa in a consistent, accurate manner. 3P devices that connect to Alexa fall into two categories: 1) certified devices that work with Alexa and 2) certified devices that have Alexa built-in. Accurately categorizing and describing these products is crucial to building customer understanding and trust.
Two certifications are available for 3P devices that connect to Alexa: Works with Alexa (WWA) and Alexa Built-in (ABI). 3Ps can be certified as trusted partners if their devices meet either of our certification program standards. Once a 3P device is awarded formal WWA or ABI certification, they are able to add a WWA or ABI badge to their marketing materials and are able to say that their product “works with Alexa” or has “Alexa built-in.”
Alexa Built-in (ABI) is a certification program that confirms whether a 3P product meets our product standards, helping to ensure that customers have a better Alexa experience. The ABI badge increases customer confidence that a product integrates seamlessly with Alexa. When a product receives certification, it can carry the ABI badge on product packaging, on the product detail page on Amazon.com, and as a notation in Amazon.com search results.
Alexa is the intelligent cloud-based voice AI that you can talk to on [your product]. Speak to Alexa through [your product] to play music, hear the news, check weather, control smart home devices, and more. Alexa lives in the cloud, so Alexa is always getting smarter, adding new capabilities that are delivered to your device automatically. Using Alexa on [your product] is simple and hands-free [only include hands-free if applicable, does not apply to push-to-talk]—just ask, and Alexa will respond instantly.
Products eligible for ABI certification must adhere to stringent product requirements. See the Alexa Built-in Overview page for more information.
Refer to the following segment-specific ABI playbooks for additional guidance.
- Smart Speakers & Soundbars
- Headphones (Hearables)
- Alexa Built-in PC
- <TV> Coming soon
- <Wearables (i.e Fitbit)> Coming soon
- <Smart Displays (smart tablets, monitors)> Coming soon
WWA is a certification program that establishes if a product is compatible with Alexa, helping to ensure that customers have a better smart home experience. The badge increases customer confidence that a product integrates seamlessly with Alexa. When a product receives certification, it can carry the WWA badge on product packaging, on the product detail page on Amazon.com, and as a notation in Amazon.com search results. The product also becomes eligible for additional placements within the Amazon Smart Home Store and Amazon Works with Alexa Store.
Use your voice to control [product] by speaking commands through any device with Alexa. To set up voice control on any certified “Works with Alexa” product, enable the skill and link your Alexa account to your [your brand] account. Then just ask Alexa to turn on the light, dim the table lamp, increase the temperature, or lock the door. Some smart home products require a compatible hub.
Products eligible for Works with Alexa (WWA) certification must adhere to the WWA program requirements. To be eligible for WWA certification, your device must implement specific capability interfaces for the features it supports. Additionally, all devices must support device discovery and state reporting. See the Works with Alexa Overview page and Alexa Connected Devices page for more information.
With Alexa built into their vehicle, drivers can complete tasks without taking their eyes off the road or hands off the wheel. Amazon works with leading automakers to bring Alexa to vehicles through in-vehicle integrationsi n a way that feels both integrated and consistent with the rest of the vehicle's system while still offering familiarity for Alexa customers. Visit the Alexa Automotive Guide or the Alexa Vehicles page for more information.
Whether you're a developer or an automaker, there are approved ways to talk about automotive devices and features with Alexa.
- How to title your integration - [Automaker Brand] + [Product Name] + with Alexa Built-in, (e.g., Acme Widget with Alexa Built-in).
- How to title your device on an Amazon.com product listing page - [Automaker Brand] + [Product Name] + Alexa Built-In + [packaging type, if applicable] + [color/style/size, if applicable]. See all Amazon.com Product Detail Page rules.
- How to describe your product’s integration with Alexa - Refer to your product’s integration with Alexa as “Alexa Built-in”: "[Product Name] with Alexa Built-in”.
- How to describe how to interact with Alexa on your product - Refer to your product's integration with Alexa as “Alexa Built-in.” For example, “[Product Name] has Alexa Built-in, so you can just ask …”.
- General short description - “With Alexa in your [Make / Model], you can play music, hear the news, check weather, control smart home devices, and more—all hands-free. Just ask.”
- Wake word description - “With Alexa in your [Make / Model], you can play music, hear the news, check weather, control smart home devices, and more—all hands-free. Just ask and Alexa will respond instantly. Alexa lives in the cloud and is always getting smarter, adding new capabilities that are delivered to your car automatically.”
- Tap-to-talk description - “With Alexa in your [Make / Model], you can play music, hear the news, check weather, control smart home devices, and more. Just tap and ask and Alexa will respond instantly. Alexa lives in the cloud and is always getting smarter, adding new capabilities that are delivered to your car automatically.”
- Alexa Connected Car Skills - “From the comfort of your home, use the [Automaker Skill Name] skill for Alexa to remotely control your [Automaker Brand] vehicle. Just by asking, you can remotely lock/unlock your doors, start/stop the engine, find out how much fuel you have left, and more.” Please confirm full functionality of your skill and adjust this description accordingly.
- Alexa Connected Car Skills and Alexa in the vehicle, combined - “There are two ways to enjoy Alexa with your [Make / Model]. While inside your [Make / Model], you can ask to play music, make calls, listen to audiobooks, hear the news, check the weather, control smart home devices, get directions, find parking, and more—all while you keep your hands on the wheel and eyes on the road. You can use the [Automaker Skill Name] connected car skill to remotely control your [Automaker Brand] vehicle. Just by asking Alexa, you can remotely lock/unlock your doors, start/stop the engine, find out how much fuel you have left, and more.”
Skills are voice-driven Alexa features that allow users to engage in a variety of activities on their devices with Alexa. Customers can add—or enable—skills with their voice or via the Alexa app to engage with their favorite brands, music, games, and capabilities with Alexa. Developers can create unique voice experiences for brands using the Alexa Skills Kit (ASK). Organizations and individuals can publish skills in the Alexa Skills Store and make them instantly available to customers on hundreds of millions of devices with Alexa (e.g., Amazon Echo, Fire TV, and more). See the Skills Developer page for more information.
- Do not capitalize the word “skills”
- When describing a skill in marketing content, it should always be introduced as, "The [name] skill for Alexa".
- Clearly communicate that the functionality is from the skill and not from Alexa (e.g., "With the [name] skill for Alexa, you can do X" vs. "Alexa does X").
- In marketing, feature the utterance used to launch the skill in the creative. This can be via voice-over or explicitly written out.
- All marketing content must include the trademark language: "Amazon, Alexa, and all related marks are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates."
The term “smart home” refers to a residence consisting of one or more smart products which enhance the living experience with benefits such as convenience, control, and optimization of resources. A product is deemed “smart” when it is capable of communicating with other smart products and/or a user interface to manage it. The ability to control elements within the home with natural voice interaction is highly compelling for the consumer. Smart home is about improving home performance by offering customers solutions that make life simpler and puts them in control of the space that matters most: home. For developers, it is another dimension of innovation. With the Smart Home Skill API, developers can enable voice control over their smart products.
- Use the term “smart home” or "smart home with Alexa" (e.g., “Create a smart home with Alexa,” “Alexa can help make your home smarter”), not “Alexa smart home”.
- Test the smart home functionality on the device you are promoting. Not all smart home devices are supported on every device with Alexa (e.g., coffee makers with electric buttons do not work with Amazon Smart Plug).
- Include “compatible" or “supported" when referencing smart home devices (e.g., "Ask Alexa to control compatible smart lights or supported speakers").
- Use compelling benefit visualization to demonstrate the smart home use case. Consider how to shift from product focus to use case focus. Customers don’t often know that smart home devices can connect to Alexa or why this matters. Creative and messaging must help bridge this gap.
Customers can communicate with others using supported Echo devices, devices with Alexa, or the Amazon Alexa app on your mobile phone or tablet. Customers can call people's phones or other Alexa devices, as an intercom using Drop In, and use Announcements to broadcast to other devices with Alexa. See below for guidelines around communications.
- When referring to all of the features, use “Alexa Communication” or “communication features.” You can drop “Alexa” when implied.
- Prioritize features based on stickiness: 1) Drop In, 2) Calling, 3) Announcements. Generally, lean into Drop In and Announcements first as intra-home communication features, then calling.
- For Drop In and Announcements, lean into “mobile to home” for single device owners, and “intercom” for multi-device owners.
Drop In, a feature that helps customers keep their households in sync, enables customers instantly to check-in with others in their home or with close contacts who have devices with Alexa.
- The feature’s official name is “Alexa Drop In,” though you can drop “Alexa” when it's implied.
- Capitalize “Drop In” when referring to the feature (e.g., “use Drop In...”).
- Lowercase “drop in” when using it as a verb (e.g., “drop in on...”).
- Feature situations that highlight communication either between devices in the home or from the mobile app to a device at home.
Introducing Drop In:
Drop In is like a two-way intercom, it is an optional feature that lets you instantly connect between rooms with your supported Alexa-enabled devices. Just say, “Alexa, drop in” to get started. [note: We can't use "instant" in the EU].
Drop In Out of the Home:
You can also use Drop In to communicate with close family outside the home by granting Drop In permissions to your selected contacts.
From the App/On the Go:
You can also use the Alexa app to drop in on your devices to let your family know when you’re on your way home. [note: if this is the first reference on the page replace "device" with "supported Alexa-enabled device"].
Set Up:
- In the Alexa app select the Conversation icon.
- Select the Drop In bar.
- Select the name of the contact you want to drop in on.
Example Utterances:
- “Alexa, drop in.”
- "Alexa, drop in on the kitchen.”
- “Alexa, drop in on Echo.”
- “Alexa, hang up."
Announcements are another feature that help customers keep their households in sync. Announcements enables customers to broadcast messages to supported devices with Alexa in their household. Customers can make announcements through any device that connects to Alexa, including the Alexa app.
- Use “Announcements” when referring to the feature, though the official name is “Alexa Announcements.”
- Capitalize “Announcements when referring to the feature (e.g., ”use Announcements...“).
- Lowercase “announcements when using it as a noun (e.g., ”make announcements...“).
- Feature situations that highlight communication either between devices in the home or from the mobile app to a device at home.
- The golden utterance is “Alexa, make an announcement,” though “Alexa, tell everyone [...]” can be used.
Introducing Announcements:
Now there's an easier way to quickly get your family on the same page. Announcements lets you broadcast a message to your supported Alexa-enabled devices to help keep your household in sync. Just say, “Alexa, announce dinner is ready” and “Dinner is ready” will be played out in your voice on supported devices.
From the App/On the Go:
You can also use the Alexa app to make an Announcement on your supported Alexa-enabled devices to let your family know when you’re on your way home.
Example Utterances:
- “Alexa, announce that dinner’s ready.”
- “Alexa, broadcast that we’re leaving in five.”
- “Alexa, announce that I’m heading home from the office.”
Customers can use devices with Alexa to call people on their phones for free in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico (Emergency numbers like 911 are not supported). Customers can also call other devices with Alexa or their Alexa app.
- Formal name is “Alexa Calling,” though you can drop “Alexa” when it's implied.
Introducing Calling:
Making calls with Alexa is easy. Reach people on their supported Alexa-enabled device or the Alexa app. You can also place a call to most phone numbers in the US, Canada and Mexico – for free. [note: "place a call to most phone numbers" either needs to be on the same page as an explanation that emergency calling is not supported, or followed by a "Learn More" link directly after that statement that leads to the Legal FAQ's.]
Video Calls:
You can also make video calls to friends and family between any Echo Show, Echo Spot, or the Alexa app.
To call an Alexa contact, say something like, "Call John Smith." If your contact answers the call using a device with a screen, or with the Alexa App, it'll be a video call.
Calling Contacts:
Once your contacts are synced in the Alexa app, just ask Alexa to call any of your contacts by name to make hands-free calls while you multitask.
Receiving Calls:
You can receive calls from other supported Alexa-enabled devices or the Alexa app. If someone is calling, Alexa will announce the incoming caller and a green light indicator will appear on your Echo device. You can ask Alexa to answer or ignore the call.
International (no COBO i.e. everywhere except US/CA):
“Call your Alexa contacts, by name, hands free. Just say “Alexa, Call Mum” to reach your contact on their supported Alexa-enabled device or the Alexa app.”
Example Utterances:
- “Alexa, call Mom.”
- “Alexa, answer.”
- “Alexa, hang up.”
- “Alexa, what's Domino's number?” [US/CA only]
Use Alexa to easily send and receive messages to or from other Alexa Communication users. You can message your contacts with your voice through compatible devices with Alexa or the Alexa app. Messages can also be typed in the Alexa app.
- Formal name is “Alexa Messaging,” though you can drop “Alexa” when it's implied.
Introducing Messaging:
Use Alexa to easily send and receive Alexa Messages to other Alexa Communication users. Simply say “Alexa, send a message” and a voice recording of your message will be delivered to your contact’s supported Alexa-enabled device and Alexa app. If your contact doesn’t yet own a supported Alexa-enabled device, they can download the free Alexa app to send and receive Alexa Messages.
Receiving Messaging:
When you receive a new Alexa message you’ll hear a chime and see a yellow light indicator on your Echo device. If your Echo has a screen, you will see a message icon. You’ll also be notified in the Alexa app so you can stay in touch wherever you are.
Example Utterances:
- “Alexa, message Dad.”
- “Alexa, play my messages”
