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Is there anything Alexa can’t do? Not much, now that the AI boasts more than 1,000 skills

By Lulu Chang June 3, 2016

alexa — Image used with permission by copyright holder

It soon may be easier to list the things Amazon’s Alexa can’t do rather than the things it can. On Friday, the smart home system revealed that there are now more than 1,000 third-party skills available on the platform, with everyone from Capital One to Domino’s to the PGA Tour offering some sort of compatibility with the AI system.

Alexa, which gives “personality” to such hardware as Amazon Echo, Amazon Fire TV, and Amazon Tap, has proven popular among developers and companies across a myriad of industries. And Amazon says that as Alexa acquires new skills from more developers, the system continues to improve upon itself, “giving developers a new way to delight their customers with voice-enabled experiences.”

Thanks to the Alexa Skills Set and the Smart Home Skill API, developers can continuously teach Alexa new skills and offer new integrations to customers.

“Less than a year ago, we released the Alexa Skills Kit, making it possible for any developer to create voice experiences for Alexa,” said Rob Pulciani, Amazon Alexa director. “Today, we have a vibrant community of tens of thousands of developers who are learning about the service, bringing useful and innovative skills to every aspect of Alexa customers’ lives, and introducing their own users to the magic and simplicity of hands-free, voice-driven interactions.”

From Capital One’s voice access to banking information to Domino’s hands-free pizza ordering service, Alexa seems to be making many aspects of our lives easier than ever. Even if you’re looking to leave your home — and Alexa — for awhile, the AI can help thanks to an integration with Kayak, which lets users access travel details with nothing more than their voice.

“The Kayak skill for Alexa has already delivered strong user insights that emphasize the power and potential of voice-enabled travel search. We are moving quickly to build on it,” said Matthias Keller, chief scientist at Kayak. “The development process was seamless and enabled us to take our work with natural language processing to the next level.”

“We’re excited about the 1,000 skills that are already available,” said Pulciani. “[We] can’t wait to see what developers create with the next 10,000.”

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