Since Alexa is available in multiple languages and countries, sometimes there can be some confusion about where skills are available. It is important to review how your language models are set up to ensure your skill is discoverable for your customers. This blog will help you identify where your skill is published in the Alexa Skills Store and help ensure your customers are able to find your skill.

Check the Available Languages of the Skill

In order for a skill to show up in the “Skills” section of the Alexa app, the skill must have a language version that matches the language of the Alexa app's skills store. For example, if you would like to publish a skill in the US Alexa Skills Store, your skill must have an English (US) language version. Please note that for the purposes of the Alexa Skills Store, Alexa would consider "English (US)" to be separate from English (CA)," "English (UK)," and so forth. If you would like to publish a skill in the Canadian or UK Alexa Skills Stores, your skill must have English (CA) and/or English (UK) language versions, respectively.

Check the Country Availability of the Skill

Some skill languages are associated with multiple countries. For example, Alexa's German language version is accessible in Germany and Austria through Amazon.de. Similarly, Alexa's "English (US)" language version is associated with many countries that do not have explicitly defined Alexa languages. You can find a list of countries and Alexa skill language support for those countries on the Supported Alexa Features by Country for "International Version" Echo Devices page.

However, developers have the ability to restrict which countries a skill can be found in by clicking "Selected countries and regions" under "Where would you like this skill to be available?" in the "Availability" tab of the Alexa Developer Console.
 

For example, if you have an English (US) language skill and you choose "Selected countries and regions," you could check the box for only "United States." You might want to do this if the subject matter of your skill is specific to only one or a select set of countries. For more information, see our Define Skill Availability page.

Unless your skill's content is specific to a certain country, we recommend keeping the default "In all countries and regions where Amazon distributes skills" option. This makes it easier to expand your skill's distribution later, and helps avoid many discoverability issues entirely.

For additional support on this topic, or support in general, feel free to post on the Alexa Developer Forums, or get in touch with us.

Related Content

Define Skill Store Details and Availability
Develop Skills in Multiple Languages
International Skill Distribution
Country/Region-Specific Restrictions
Manage and Control Your Skills through the Alexa Developer Console or SMAPI