Get Started with AVS
Developers use the Alexa Voice Service (AVS) to integrate Alexa directly into their products. Your team chooses hardware and designs the experience, AVS provides the automatic speech recognition, natural language understanding, and text-to-speech engines.
To start, create a product profile and prototype with our AVS Device SDK sample app. Then follow our documentation to design your ideal customer experience and select the right software and hardware development tools for your use case.
Prefer a turn-key solution? Amazon also works with System Integrators and Original Design Manufacturers to enable an accelerated path to market.
Get on our radar
Learn about feature updates, international expansion, release notes, and helpful tutorials.
Prototype with the AVS Device SDK
See AVS in action with a quick prototype. Use it to define your customer use cases, desired features, and hardware requirements.
- Set up your account and product profile
- Follow our tutorial using the Alexa Device SDK and a Raspberry Pi
Don't have access to a Pi? We have quick start guides for Ubuntu Linux, macOS, and Windows.
Choose a hardware development kit
Kick off development of a commercial device with a reference solution for AVS. These audio front end (AFE) and single-chip-solution development kits were built with voice in mind, reducing cost and accelerating the integration process. Select the kit that matches the number of mics, mic arrangement, and audio algorithms your product needs.
- Shop Hardware Development Kits
- Understand typical Audio Hardware Configurations
Build with the AVS Device SDK
The Device SDK provides the software interface for your device through C++-based libraries that leverage the AVS APIs. It is modular and abstracted, providing components that expose our APIs, which you can use and customize.
To integrate Alexa into your device, get the SDK.
Not using the SDK, or want to learn how our service-level APIs work? Read the docs to understand authorization, capabilities, and interfaces.
Follow the AVS guidelines
UX design guidance
Alexa UX goes beyond voice, touch, and on-device buttons. From product design and branding to packaging and the companion app – your product's voice and visual experience should be familiar and natural for customers.
Read the UX requirements and recommendations Overview.
Functional requirements
Avoid issues as you build and prepare for testing. Get to know our functional requirements and download self-testing checklists to validate your integration.
Building for commercial release? Read the requirements.
Marketing guidance
Teach your customers about Alexa through promotional materials and advertising. We cover requirements for press releases, packaging, retail fixtures, websites, crowdfunding sites, Amazon product detail page content, and videos.
Develop your strategy with our Marketing and Branding Guidelines.
Manage your product
Integrate new features
Alexa lives in the cloud and is always getting smarter. With regular feature updates and product requirements that enhance the Alexa experience for your customers, our tech docs are your resource.
- Refer to the AVS Documentation Changelog
- Check for API updates in What's New
Reach your customers
Once your product is released, track customer engagement in the AVS developer console. Learn to leverage Amazon.com and Amazon Marketing Services to increase exposure.
- Monitor engagement in the AVS Analytics Dashboard
- Promote your product with AVS Marketing Opportunities
Need help?
If you have any questions, comments, or encounter issues, please leverage the AVS Knowledge Base and Forum. We actively monitor and respond to developer feedback and concerns.