Skill with Alexa Blueprints.
You can find many skills in the Amazon Alexa Skills Store. Alexa offers a variety of skills for kids and adults, from those that help you manage your smart home to others that keep you entertained.
However, you may be looking for something specific. Maybe you need a quiz game about your family, a story starring your child, or a guest guide to your home and neighborhood.
Well, guess what? You can create your own skill using Alexa blueprints. That’s how!
Browse Alexa Skill Blueprints
You can view and select a blueprint from the Blueprints.Amazon.com website and the Alexa mobile app. This makes it easy to create a skill on almost any device, because the outline is essentially a template.
Browse the categories Home, Recommended by Amazon Kids, Learning & Knowledge, Fun & Games, Storytelling, Cheers & Events, Communities & Organizations, and Business.
Select a schema to view more details and see examples. This will help you see how a babysitting plan can help when you’re away, or a family prank plan can spice up your time.
If you find one you want, select “Create Your Own” on the skill info screen.
Create a Skill
The steps are the same whether you create a skill with a plan online or on your mobile device. However, these steps may differ depending on the selected schema type.
For example, you enter different information for a birthday quiz skill than you enter for flashcards, babysitters, or bedtime stories. You can see these steps when you select a circuit to view its details.
To show you how easy it is, we’ll create one skill per device.
Web Mapping Skill
In this first example, we’ll use the Chore Chart to create a skill on a website. This skill helps you keep track of household chores and keep track of who is in charge.
Visit the Alexa Blueprints website, sign in with your Amazon account, and select a plan.As described above, select “Create Your Own” directly below the name of the skill. If you see a quick guide to developing a skill, select “Start Now” when you reach the end.Next, you will be prompted to replace the details of the skill with your own. In the Household Chart, we will write the names of our family members and household chores.
Click “Next” in the upper right corner to proceed to the next step.Here again, you may be asked to enter more information about the skill. For the Chore Chart plan, we assign household chores to family members. Just be aware that the number of hints and details requested depends on the specific skill and plan.
Click “Next” to continue.One step you’ll find in most blueprints is setting up the interface. This refers to how you interact with Alexa for that particular skill. For example, you can enter introductory phrases when someone unlocks a skill, and then other phrases when someone does a job. These are the phrases that Alexa uses for this particular skill.
Click Next to complete the details.The last step in creating a skill is to give it a name. Try to use something meaningful that you remember, but also something simple enough for Alexa to recognize.
Click “Next” one last time to create the skill.
After a few seconds of processing all the information, your skill should be ready to use!
Create the “Whose move” skill in the mobile app
In the following example, we will use the “Whose Turn” schema to create a skill in the Alexa app. This skill encourages Alexa to choose whose turn it is to do something.
Open the Alexa app on Android or iOS and select the “More” tab.Select “Details” in the top section and select “Drawings”.Browse options by category, just like on a website. Then choose the one you want to use and click “Create Your Own”.
Replace the parts for the skill with your own. For the Whose Turn skill, we will add the names of Alexa’s choices.Click next in the upper right corner to continue.The next step for the Whose Turn skill is to personalize the experience. This allows you to customize how Alexa selects the name. After you ask a question, Alexa uses the phrases and sound effects you choose in this section. You can optionally scroll down to see more customization options.Click Next to name your custom skill.Select text in the name bar to edit it, or enter your own. Again, choose a meaningful name that Alexa can easily recognize.Click next to create the skill.
You will see progress as you build your skill and confirmation when the process is complete. You can click the X in the top right corner to exit when you’re done viewing your skill.
Edit Skills You Create
Once you’ve created a skill with Alexa Blueprints, you can make adjustments to it. You can do this online and on the mobile app.
Your web skills
Visit the Alexa Blueprints website and sign in. Select “Skills you have created” at the top. You will see a list of your skills. Select “Details” on the right to open the one you want to edit.
On the right side, select Edit or Delete. You’ll notice that you can also select “Share with others” to make it easier for your family or friends to access or share the Skills Store with other Alexa users.
Your mobile app skills
You can also easily edit your custom skills in the Alexa mobile app.
Click the Menu tab.Choose More > Drawings.On the Your Skills tab, select the drawing you want to modify. Use the buttons below to make changes.
Take Advantage of Alexa Blueprints
While there are many pre-made skills you can choose from, creating your own Alexa skills gives you great ways to personalize the experience on your Alexa devices, complete tasks, or have some fun!
So what will it be? Family trivia with your Amazon Echo, custom Q&A on your Echo Dot, a sci-fi story on the Alexa mobile app, or something entirely different? Let us know!
Skill with Alexa Blueprints
Skill with Alexa Blueprints