Alexa Voice Service is now open to UK and Germany developers, allowing developers in those regions to work with the software and create new skills for the platform that can be used with Amazon’s collection of devices that are powered by Alexa, such as the Echo and Echo Dot. More than that though, having AVS at their disposal means that developers in both countries can now use it to incorporate Alexa into other products for those regions as well.
This expansion of Alexa Voice Service to the UK and Germany will open up localized skills and language support for the software which will enable end users to speak to Alexa in the language they prefer to use, whether that be U.S.-English, UK-English, or German. For customers in either of these two newly supported countries, it isn’t just about speaking to Alexa with their preferred language. Accessing skills that are specifically for those regions is also a huge benefit that users will now have access to, so if there are other services that Alexa-powered devices could tap into from those regions, it’s now possible. For UK users, some examples of services which can be now be accessed through Alexa are the BBC, MyTaxi, and JustEat.
While Alexa is great for allowing users to do all sorts of things from interacting with smart home products to answering questions, Amazon is mainly about shopping and Alexa Voice Service wouldn’t be an Amazon product if it didn’t integrate somehow with Amazon’s website. As would be expected, UK users can shop on Amazon.co.uk by using just their voice. Amazon doesn’t mention whether or not end users in Germany can do the same thing with the German version of Amazon, but they also don’t mention that users in Germany can’t, so it might be possible. With the new language support on board, it also works out for developers and manufacturers who are building products for a global rollout. For example, a user who is not in Germany but might want to speak to Alexa in German would be able to do so as long as the product supports it. In addition to speaking to Alexa in UK-English and German, Alexa will also respond in those languages as well. Alexa Voice Service is available for developers in the UK and Germany to work with starting today.