We are excited to announce proactive discovery and endpoint management, an addition to the Alexa Discovery APIs that allows customers to seamlessly update and maintain their devices and scenes with less direct interaction.

One of the most common questions we receive from developers is “How can I get my skill featured by Amazon?” Here are a few best practices to help your skill shine and increase the chances of it being featured by Amazon.

With every request a customer makes of your skill, you have an opportunity to make your skill even better. The key to all of this is to manage and keep track of those requests, and then use that data to make improvements to your skill.

Storyline CEO Vasili Shynkarenka shares some best practices for picking a solid skill invocation name. Learn why the best invocation names are searchable, simple, and explicit and how to create a memorable invocation name of your own.

Today, we’re excited to announce Alexa’s continued participation in AWS re:Invent 2018, the largest gathering of the global Amazon developer community. The first round of Alexa sessions are now live on the re:Invent session catalog.

Now you can test your Alexa skills for Echo Buttons without owning an Echo, Echo Buttons, or any device using the Alexa simulator in the Alexa Developer Console.

Today we are excited to announce equalizer (EQ) and sound mode controls for smart home entertainment devices, available today for customers in the US across the Amazon Echo family of devices, and on select Alexa-enabled devices built using the Alexa Voice Service (AVS).

Here I’ll walk you through some tips for building an Alexa skill for Fire TV Cube, using core best practices for creating voice-first experiences for devices with screens.

Learn how to handle unexpected requests from customers, or instances when a customer says something that doesn’t map to any intents in your skill.

Mario Johansson entwickelt unter anderem Ambient Sound Skills für Alexa. In der Developer Story erzählt er, wie er zur Skillentwicklung gekommen ist, teilt seine Best Practices und gibt Ratschläge für neue Skill-Entwickler.

We are excited to announce that Alexa now supports kid skills in Australia and New Zealand. Aussie and Kiwi developers can now use the Australia and New Zealand Alexa Skills Kit to create skills that educate, entertain, and engage kids.

I recently concluded a Twitch series called the Joy of Voice, during which I built a Star Wars database Alexa skill from start to finish. Here is a quick recap of each episode and what viewers learned.

The Show Mode update allows US customers to use their Fire Tablet as an Echo Show. The Show Mode Charging Dock props up the Fire Tablet while charging and defaults to Show Mode, allowing for even greater ease in hands-free use of voice-first skills on Alexa-enabled devices in the US.

Gary Vaynerchuk, CEO of VaynerMedia, says, "Alexa and voice is the future of a frictionless world." Vaynerchuk believes the voice economywill fuel hundred-billion-dollar companies the size of Facebok and Instagram. 

It’s time to get your skills ready for Prime Day, one of the biggest shopping days of the year. Check out these blog posts, documentation, and other helpful material to start improving your skill.