If you’re an Alexa user, you’ll find Amazon’s newly released Alexa Blueprints a lifesaver. Not only does it make using Alexa less complicated, it also lets any beginner, with or without experience, use Alexa pretty well with ease.
What is Alexa?
For those who haven’t heard, Alexa is a virtual assistant developed by Amazon. It was originally developed to be used in Amazon Echo and the succeeding Amazon Echo Dot speakers back in 2014. Given that it is a virtual assistant, it has voice interaction capabilities, along with music playback, to-do list functionality, alarm setting, podcast and audiobook playback, and the usual traffic conditions, weather reports, and the latest news updates. It can also function as a home automation system as it can remotely control smart devices.
Alexa is activated through a wake word, while on other devices, a user will need to press a button to activate the listening mode on Alexa.
What is Alexa Blueprints?
Almost four years later since Alexa’s launch, Amazon has developed Alexa Blueprints. Alexa Blueprints is a new way for users to customize Alexa, giving them the chance to add new skills and responses without having to alter Alexa itself. There are no coding skills needed. Users can now create voice apps of their own and teach Alexa how to respond to certain questions. Be it a slew of stories for the little ones or some trivia games, Alexa Blueprints can help even those who have zero coding skills customize their own experience.
How does one use Alexa Blueprints?
Given that it is marketed to those who have no prior background in app building and coding, Alexa Blueprints is very simple to use. You can create a new skill or personalized response on Alexa by simply visiting blueprints.amazon.com, where you can select a template to work with.
There is a selection of 20 templates available for users to customize. The templates are arranged under categories of interest, such as Learning & Knowledge, Fun & Games, Storyteller, and At Home. Once you’ve chosen a design, it is pretty straightforward from there. You simply enter your information or the things you want featured in your app. After you are finished filling up the template with your desired content, you can publish Alexa’s new skill or response with just a quick click of a button. Once you’ve published it, this new skill or response will now be available on all your devices that are Alexa-enabled and linked to your personal Amazon account.
With Alexa Blueprints, there are no complicated steps, nor will you even need to look up how to use it. The templates are available for you to try out before you are ready to make your own. Advanced users can of course proceed to making more complicated skills and responses to their own liking. Alexa Blueprints is a great way to personalize Alexa for all its users, whether they are tech-savvy or not.