In May, we announced new permissions features that allow you to read, add and delete items in Alexa’s Shopping and To-do lists from within your skill. This allows customers to use your skill to keep track of their important tasks and shopping needs.

Today we announced that developers can now programmatically manage and test their skills with the Alexa Skill Management API (SMAPI) and the Alexa Skills Kit Command-line Interface (ASK CLI), new features in the Alexa Skills Kit. 

Today we are excited to announce that developers can now programmatically manage and test their skills with the Alexa Skill Management API (SMAPI) and the Alexa Skills Kit Command-line Interface (ASK CLI), new features in the Alexa Skills Kit.

One of the most common questions I get from new Alexa developers is: "I'm getting an error that says, 'The remote endpoint could not be called, or the response it returned was invalid.' How do I fix it?" The good new is you already have all the tools you need.

We’re excited to announce that, starting today, Alexa supports kid skills in the US. You can now publish fun and educational skills for kids under the age of 13.

Nickelodeon's skill places kids behind the counter at the Krusty Krab diner to take orders they then have to remember. The SpongeBob Challenge skill features 70 characters from the show including Patrick, Plankton, and Mr. Krabs.

To delight and educate kids, Sesame Workshop launched an Alexa skill that features Elmo, one of Sesame Street’s most famous characters. Now, with a parent’s consent, kids can say, “Alexa, Ask Sesame Street to call Elmo” and start engaging with the Muppet character via voice.

Since we introduced Echo Show, developers have been optimizing their Alexa skills to create experiences that deliver new ways for customers to interact across voice and graphical user interfaces. Follow our tips to avoid common certification issues on Alexa skills intended for Echo Show.

Developers can earn money for the most engaging Alexa skills across more skill categories. Each month, developers of eligible skills with the highest customer engagement in the US, UK, and Germany are paid by Amazon. 

With the release of the Echo Show, you can complement your voice user experiences with visuals. In this post, we’ll cover scenarios where you want to offer a list of options on Echo Show using one of the list templates.

Nestlés' GoodNes skill is accompanied by a unique GoodNes visual guide, which connects to consumers’ web browser on their computer or tablet to offer what Nestlé calls a “visual voice browsing” experience.

Today, we’re excited to announce we’re teaming up with Galvanize to train Alexa developers across the US in 2017. Galvanize will bring Alexa skills workshops to seven locations starting in August.

The Royal Opera House skill for Alexa delivers performance information whenever customers ask. Customers can simply say, “Alexa, ask the Royal Opera House what’s on this weekend,” and Alexa responds with the information customers need to plan ahead for shows.

One of the top drivers of negative feedback on skills is account linking. This is not surprising since it is one of the more complex features to implement. We have attempted to distill the feedback into a set of best practices.

The opportunity lies not in the individual devices but in creating seamless experiences for homeowners, says Bethesda Systems President Jon Stovall.