Alexa Skills Kit Hits First Birthday, Features Added for Skill Discovery

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

A year ago, Amazon opened up Alexa to developers, allowing them to integrate the tech into their own platforms. Because of this, the amount of skills offered on the Echo has shot up tremendously, with more being added every day. To help navigate through all of these skills, Amazon has redesigned the Skills layout inside of the Alexa app, listing individual skills under categories, making discovery easier for Echo owners.

With the updated look, owners can view skills listed under Smart Home and Lifestyle categories, as well as utilize search filters to help you find exactly what you are looking for. Additionally, available starting today, Alexa owners can use their voice to enable any skill that is available. For example, you can say to Echo, "Alexa, enable 7 Minute Workout." It's as easy at that.

According to Amazon, Alexa has over 1,400 skills available to owners, the bulk of which are essentially new to the platform. A couple examples of newly added skills are from Lyft and Honeywell. With the Lyft skill, you can quickly catch a ride, and with Honeywell, managing your Smart Home is made a bit more simple.

All of the changes listed in this post are available starting today.