Introducing New Works with Alexa (WWA) Badge and Requirements

The Works with Alexa (WWA) program has helped generate billions of dollars for device makers, helping increase exposure of your Alexa-connected products to the millions of customers who shop on Amazon.com every day. The WWA program ensures your Alexa-connected devices provide a great customer experience, increasing customer awareness and confidence in your products and brand. Today, we are excited to introduce new badge designs for existing and new WWA certified products. Additionally, beginning later this year, we will introduce new feature requirements for the Works with Alexa (WWA) program to ensure that Alexa customers have a great smart home experience across device setup as well as audio and visual (A/V) experiences. In order to qualify for the WWA program, all new products must satisfy the updated eligibility and product requirements in the Works with Alexa Program Guidelines.

We are excited to announce a new redesigned WWA badge to help increase Alexa brand recognition for your WWA products. You can review the new design and guidelines for incorporating Alexa badges, logos, or symbols into your marketing materials and packaging. Starting today, certified products must use the new badge. We ask that you update any existing content with the new badge according to the following timelines:

• Digital and online placements should be updated by May 1, 2021
• Packaging, retail displays, and other offline materials should be updated by March 1, 2022

You can download the WWA badge from the resources section of the Alexa Certification Console. All marketing materials must comply with the Works with Alexa Trademark Usage and the Alexa Badges guidelines.

Beginning in November 2021, we will require new WWA criteria that help ensure your customers have the best smart home experience. All new devices must have implemented the following features in order to qualify for the WWA badge:

• App-to-App Account Linking: If your product requires a mobile app for setup, WWA will require implementation of App-to-App Account Linking from your own native app (iOS and Android) to the Alexa app. This account linking experience reduces the number of steps required by the customers to start using your skill, and can eliminate the need for them to re-enter their account credentials. You can find more information on implementing for iOS and Android here.
• Required Discovery Attributes: The discovery attributes of “manufacturer” and “model” will now be required in your Discovery Response event for all WWA devices. The additional attributes object will need to include your product’s manufacturer name and model number. You can view more information on discovery response here, and learn more about manufacturer and model attributes here.
• Video Skill Kit: The Video Skill Kit is a set of APIs that allows developers to integrate voice control into their video devices. This lets customers control their entire video experience, using an Alexa device. We will be incorporating the following VSK controllers in WWA testing for set-top boxes, gaming consoles, and smart TVs:
  • Channel Controller Interface
  • Remote Video Player Controller - Search and Display
  • Remote Video Player Controller - Search and Play
  • Launcher Interface - Apps and Shortcuts
  • Playback State Reporting

To learn more about how to get started with the new Works with Alexa requirements, click here to access the WWA console and visit the documentation below.