Amazon has announced Alexa Plus, powered by large language models (LLMs), and developers are buzzing with anticipation (and a healthy dose of skepticism!). Join Mark Tucker and Allen Firstenberg, your Two Voice Devs, as they dissect the news, explore the potential of the AI-native SDKs, and debate whether this overhaul will reignite the spark for Alexa development.
In this deep dive, we cover:
* The basics of Alexa Plus: What it is, who gets it for free, and how it differs from classic Alexa skills.
* The fate of classic Alexa skills: Are they migrating, evolving, or being left behind? We explore how current skills might benefit from AI enhancements.
* Alexa's New AI SDKs (Alexa+):
** Action SDK: Turn your existing APIs into voice experiences. Is it all about selling stuff?
** WebAction SDK: Integrate your website with Alexa using low-code workflows. But how does it really work?
** Multi-Agent SDK: Surface your existing bots and agents through Alexa. What's the difference between these and existing Alexa skills?
* The Big Questions: Personalization, monetization, notifications, handling hallucinations, response times, identity, and more!
* And finally, our predictions! Will Alexa Plus make developing for Alexa fun again? Mark and Allen give their takes!
Whether you're a seasoned Alexa developer or just curious about the future of voice interfaces, this episode is packed with insights, questions, and a healthy dose of developer humor. Subscribe to Two Voice Devs for more cutting-edge discussions on voice technology!
More Info:
* https://developer.amazon.com/en-US/blogs/alexa/alexa-skills-kit/2025/02/new-alexa-announce-blog
Timestamps:
0:00:00 Introduction
0:01:00 Alexa Plus Overview
0:02:00 Pricing & Classic Skills
0:05:00 Access & Availability
0:06:00 Alexa AI SDKs
0:12:00 Action SDK
0:21:00 WebAction SDK
0:27:00 Multi-Agent SDK
0:31:00 Big Questions for Developers
0:36:00 Will Alexa Be Fun Again?
0:41:00 Response Times & Notifications
0:45:00 Multimodal Experiences
0:46:00 Conclusion
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