You’ve got your newest Amazon Dot, Echo or Alexa enabled device. Now what? It’s time for Alexa to learn some skills! It may seem confusing at first, but skills are easy to enable and use. Here are some instructions for downloading skills for Amazon Alexa.
What are Alexa Skills?
Alexa skills are programs that are similar to apps for your mobile devices. Skills range from specialized weather information, fun games to smart home applications and more. You can’t just ask Alexa to perform a function it doesn’t come with, you have to download an Alexa Skill to use it.
See also: What Is A Smart Home?
How do I find Alexa Skills?
You can browse the available Alexa skills in the Alexa app, or on Amazon.com. In the app, select “More” on the bottom menu, then Skills & Games. While the sorting function isn’t the greatest on either platform, you can narrow your search using filters, or look through Amazon’s suggested skill categories. Additionally, you can ask “Alexa, recommend some skills” to find more skills.
How to enable an Alexa Skill
This is the easy part! Once you have found the skill you want to enable, simply click on the
“Enable To Use” button and the skill will be added to your account and you can ask Alexa to use the skill. For example, if you enable Thunderstorm Sounds by Sleep Jar, you can start it by saying “Alexa, open Thunderstorm Sounds”, or “Alexa, start Thunderstorm Sounds”. Each skill has a list of commands to activate the skill on the skill page.
Deleting an Amazon Alexa Skill
This is also an easy step. On the Skill & Games page, select “Your Skills” header, select your enabled skill and simply press the “Disable Skill” button to have it removed from your account. You can always re-enable the skill at a later time if you want.
Can I make my own Alexa Skills?
Yes, you can with Skill Blueprints! In Skill Blueprints, you can use templates to create your own personal Alexa skill in minutes. Using blueprints, you can create custom games, unique stories, or household lists. For example, you can write a trivia skill about your family and say, “Alexa, open My Family Trivia” to play it whenever you like.
Some of the Skill Blueprint categories include:
- Fun & Games
- At Home
- Storyteller
- Learning & Knowledge
Some of Our Favorite Skills
- Rain Sounds by Sleep Jar
- Skyrim Very Special Edition
- Question of the Day
- Jurassic Bark
- Escape the Room
- Xbox
See also: What Is A Smart Home
