Amazon Canada Now Lets Anyone Create Customized Alexa Skills “in Just Minutes”

Amazon Canada has announced anyone can create a personalized Alexa Skill, as new templates make it possible to build a skill in minutes, with no coding required.

With Alexa Skill Blueprints, there are over 35 templates available for customers to create personalized skills and responses for Amazon’s voice assistant, Alexa. Users just fill in the blanks within templates and skills are created “in minutes”.

There are currently four Skill Blueprints categories: Fun & Games, At Home, Storyteller, and Learning & Knowledge. They come pre-filled with content, which can also be customized. With one click, customers can add them to all their Alexa-enabled devices linked to their Amazon account.

Below are the Alexa Skill Blueprints available at launch:

At Home

• Custom Q&A: Customize Alexa responses to your questions
• Chore Chart: Schedule and track weekly chores for your entire household
• Houseguest: Make your guests feel at home with quick access to important info
• Babysitter: Help your sitter find things, remember steps and get important info
• Pet Sitter: Help your pet sitter care for your favourite animal
• Whose Turn: Figure out whose turn it is to do something by having Alexa choose for you
• Roommate: Help your roommates by providing them with all the important information they should know
• Sidekick: Alexa always has your back with these supportive and funny responses

Fun & Games

• Family Jokes: Create a list of your favourite jokes for when you need a laugh
• Trivia: Create your own multiple choice trivia game on any topic
• Inspirations: Curate a list of your favourite inspirational quotes
• Birthday Trivia: Play to see who knows the birthday girl or boy best
• Burns: Roast your friends and family with lighthearted burns
• Compliments: Flatter your favourites with a list of custom compliments
• First Letter: Play a game of categories starting with a certain letter
• Fortune Teller: Ask Alexa for your fortune to get a glimpse into the future
• Yes No Maybe: Ask Alexa any yes or no question and hear a randomly selected response
• What To Do: Make choices fun and easy by having Alexa randomly choose an item from your list
• Story Quiz: Create a story and test your memory
• Three Word Sort: Train your brain in this topsy-turvy sorting game
• Dad Jokes: Create a list of your favourite dad jokes for when you need a laugh
• Five Item Rush: Score your friends in this wacky categories game

Storyteller

• Adventure: Write an adventure story where your child is the hero
• Fairy Tale: Customize an interactive prince and princess-themed tale
• Sci-Fi: Create an interactive story with a far-out theme
• Fable: Create a short narrative with a moral of the story
• All About Mom: Surprise mom with a personalized story narrated by Alexa
• All About Dad: Surprise dad with a personalized story narrated by Alexa

Learning & Knowledge

• Flash Cards: Study, test yourself, and master any subject by voice
• Facts: Keep a list of facts on your favourite topic, all in one place
• Quiz: Challenge yourself and others with a customizable quiz
• Listening Quiz: Listen and recall with this listening quiz skill

We just gave this a try–it is indeed really easy to create your own customized skill. This will be fun to surprise your friends and family, as you can make up any question and answer, for example.

Click here to give Alexa Skill Blueprints a try.