Tag: Alexa

Amazon Pushes Alexa To More Devices, Tests Notifications

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Amazon is integrating its digital assistant service Alexa into more devices, including its new Fire HD 8 tablets and third-party devices such as LG’s SmartThinQ Hub. Users of Amazon’s Fire TV devices can now also use Alexa for universal search across various streaming platforms such as Netflix, HBO GO, and Amazon Prime Video. In addition, The Information reports that Amazon is looking to add spoken notifications to Alexa, allowing it to speak up unprompted for helpful reminders and alerts.

What Brands Need To Do
As Amazon continues to improve Alexa’s functionality and expand it to more devices to reach a bigger audience, it is quickly establishing itself as a leader in the digital assistant market. The type of hands-free, voice-based interactions that Alexa enables are set to drastically change how consumers get information and interact with brands. For additional information on how brands can effectively reach consumers on conversational interfaces, please check out the first section of our Outlook 2016. If you’re interested in learning more, please reach out and schedule a visit to the Lab.

 

Sources: Various sites as linked in the article

Amazon’s Alexa Now Supports Long-Form Audio Streaming

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Amazon has updated Alexa Skill Kit to add support for long-form audio streaming as well as playback controls, making it possible for developers to create Alexa skills that incorporate audio content like podcasts, news stories, and live streams. Previously, Alexa only supported short audio content up to 90 seconds long.

What Brands Need To Do
Thanks to the Serial-led podcast renaissance in recent years, many brands have tried their hands at sponsoring podcasts to reach listeners. Some brands, including Prudential, Umpqua Bank, and GE, even created their own podcasts as part of their content marketing. This new Alexa feature allows brands to incorporate their existing audio content into Alexa skills for a richer user experience. It also opens the door for brands to work with developers to experiment with other long-form audio content to further engage Alexa users.

The Lab has extensive experience with building Alexa skills and helping brands navigate the new realities that conversational interfaces are set to bring. If you’re interested in learning more, please reach out and schedule a visit to the Lab. For additional information on how brands can effectively reach consumers on conversational interfaces, please check out the first section of our Outlook 2016.

 

Source: Amazon Developer

 

Hyundai Develops Alexa Skill For Remote Car Control

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Hyundai has become the first auto brand to bring Alexa integration into cars as it launches a new Alexa skill to remotely control a variety of car functions on its Genesis models. Available on the Genesis G80 now and soon on the G90 models, the integration allows car owners to speak their commands to Alexa-enabled devices at home to perform tasks such as lock and unlock the car, set the AC temperature, or even honk the horn.

In related news, the automaker is partnering with Amazon for an on-demand test drive program. During this weekend and next, Prime members in Los Angeles and Orange County can request a 2017 Hyundai Elantra be delivered to their door for a test drive.

Why Brands Should Care
With this Alexa integration, Hyundai has found a way to plug their connected cars into the smart home space and open up new possibilities for them to connect with customers at home. Similarly, Volkswagen struck a partnership with LG earlier this summer to connect its vehicles to smart home devices and other gadgets. As automakers experiment with smart home device connectivity to expand the reach of their services, other brands should take note and start exploring this space to reach customers at home as well.

The Lab has extensive experience with building Alexa skills and helping brands navigate the new realities that conversational interfaces are set to bring. If you’re interested in learning more, please reach out and schedule a visit to the Lab. For additional information on how brands can effectively reach consumers on conversational interfaces, please check out the first section of our Outlook 2016.

 

Source: AdAge

Amazon Pushing Alexa Into Connected Home And Car

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Amazon has big plans for its voice-activated digital assistant Alexa. The company is seeking partnerships with smart home device makers such as Nucleus to build Alexa Voice Service into their products. This initiative is aimed at positioning Alexa as the central command hub for devices around the smart home space, even the hardware that isn’t made by Amazon. Beyond the home space, Amazon is also actively seeking to integrate Alexa into the connected car. The company has so far established partnerships with BMW and Ford to explore how Alexa can bring voice commands into cars and, in Ford’s case, bridge the gap between smart home and connected car.

What Brands Need To Do
Amazon’s vision of an intelligent assistant is set to push conversational interfaces into new spaces and further infiltrate consumers’ daily lives. In turn, it will give rise to more marketing opportunities for brands to reach customers in cars or at home with branded Alexa skills. As Amazon continues to push Alexa into the smart home and connected car, it is time that brands start working with developers to build branded Alexa skills.

The Lab has extensive experience with building Alexa skills and helping brands navigate the new realities that conversational interfaces are set to bring. If you’re interested in learning more, please reach out and schedule a visit to the Lab. For additional information on how brands can effectively reach consumers on conversational interfaces, please check out the first section of our Outlook 2016.

 

Source: New York Times & The Verge

 

Amazon Launches New Alexa Developer Tool For Audio Games

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Amazon is adding a new developer tool for building with Alexa Skills Kit that aims to make it easier for developers to create “choose-your-own-adventure” audio games. The tool includes a graphic interface for crafting and visualizing decision-tree flowcharts that will guide players through games with audio clues. Developers have already been making audio games for Alexa with the most high-profile one so far being The Wayne Investigation, a Batman-themed mystery game that Warner Bros. launched in March to promote the release of its Batman Vs. Superman movie.

What Brands Need To Do
While Alexa-enabled Echo and Fire TV devices may not seem like an obvious choice for gaming, the conversational interface they employ opens up interesting possibilities for brands to engage with Alexa users via voice-based interactions. With this developer tool, Amazon is encouraging developers to explore Alexa’s gaming capacity. Brands interested in developing branded Alexa skills should consider leveraging this handy tool to create a fun, gamified experience.

 

Source: CNET

Patrón Develops Alexa Skill To Dispense Cocktail Recipes

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Patrón is turning Amazon’s virtual assistant Alexa into a digital bartender. As part of its Patrón Cocktail Lab initiative, the tequila brand worked with Razorfish to develop an Alexa skill that allows users to ask for cocktail recipes based on flavor or occasion via voice command. Users can also ask for some interesting tidbits about tequila. The skill currently covers over 168 different recipes and Patrón says it plans to add new content every month.  

What Brands Need To Do
With this Alexa skill, Patrón stays ahead of the digital curve by dipping a toe into the voice-based conversational interface. Using Alexa-enabled devices to distribute branded content gives Patrón a way into consumers’ homes. For more information on how brands can develop authentic brand voices and navigate the new interface, check out the Conversational Interfaces section in our Outlook 2016.

The Lab has extensive experience with building Alexa skills and helping brands navigate the new realities that conversational interfaces are set to bring. If you’re interested in learning more about our take on this topic, please reach out and schedule a visit to the Lab.

 

Source: Digiday

Amazon Had A Great Prime Day With Voice-Ordering Via Alexa Popular Among Shoppers

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Amazon reported record sales for its second annual Prime Day event it held on Tuesday. The Seattle-based ecommerce leader enjoyed an increase of over 60% in global sales volume and more than 50% in the U.S. compared to last year’s Prime Day.  Compared to the mixed reaction Amazon received last year, the consumer feedbacks regarding Prime Day improved significantly this year, according to two social analytics services.

An important tidbit emerged from Amazon’s press release on Prime Day was how much the sales event pushed sales for Amazon’s Echo smart speaker. Tuesday counted as the largest sales day for Amazon Echo devices, with sales up over 2.5 times compared to the previous daily sales record. Interestingly, many Echo users also tried out the Alexa-enabled voice ordering, purchasing one Alexa-exclusive deal per second on average during Prime Day using their voice.

What Retailers Need To Do
Given the positive results, it seems very likely that Amazon will bring back Prime Day next year. The success of Alexa-enabled voice ordering shows the potential for integrating ecommerce capabilities into voice-based conversational interfaces. As more and more Amazon shoppers get Alexa-enabled devices, voice ordering is something that retail and CPG brands need to look out for.

The Lab has extensive experience with building Alexa skills and helping brands navigate the new realities that conversational interfaces are set to bring. If you’re interested in learning more about our take on this topic, please reach out and schedule a visit to the Lab.

 

Source: Amazon’s Press Release

Amazon Expands Alexa’s Shopping Capability

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Alexa lovers rejoice! Amazon has expanded the shopping capability of its digital voice assistant service. Previously, Amazon Echo users could ask Alexa to make basic purchases such as reorders of existing products as well as order a handful of select items from Amazon. On Friday, Amazon announced that Alexa can now search and purchase millions of products that are eligible for Prime shipping. Now when users ask Alexa to buy a product, Alexa will suggest a Prime eligible product and tell the cost, and users can simply place the order by responding “yes.” Certain product categories, including apparel, shoes, jewelry, and watches, are currently not eligible for purchase through Alexa, but Amazon says it is adding new items to Alexa’s shopping list daily.

What Brands Need To Do
This expansion marks an important step in Amazon’s integration of its industry-leading ecommerce business with its growing line of Alexa-enabled products. As we explained in our Outlook 2016, conversational interfaces will drastically change the rules of search discovery for brands and this serves as a good example to that point. When shoppers search for items via Alexa, they won’t see a list of options as they would on Amazon.com, but are instead served with a few top choices determined by Amazon. As Alexa-enabled devices continue to proliferate, especially among Prime members, it can significantly alter how shoppers discover and order products, and brands relying on Amazon as a sales channel will need to take proactive measures to respond.

The Lab has extensive experience with building Alexa skills and helping brands navigate the new realities that conversational interfaces are set to bring. If you’re interested in learning more about our take on this topic, please reach out and schedule a visit to the Lab.

 

Source: CNET

Amazon Makes It Easier To Discover Alexa Skills

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Amazon’s virtual assistant Alexa is getting new skills every day, but it hasn’t been very easy for users to find and activate the skills they want for their Echo devices. This pain point was largely alleviated as Amazon revamped the skills section of the Alexa mobile app, putting all skills into 20 browsable categories – including Connected Car, Smart Home, Shopping, and Travel & Transportation – and adding new search tools to make Alexa skills more discoverable. In addition, Amazon is allowing users to activate new Alexa skills by voice command. Users can now access their previously enabled skills via a new “Your Skills” section.

Since its low-key launch in November 2014, Amazon Echo has turned out to be a sleeper hit, ushering voice-based conversational interfaces into smart home devices. Early adopting brands such as Capital One, Domino’s, Kayak, and StubHub have already created branded Alexa skills to better serve customers at home. In fact, Amazon says now there are more than 1,400 skills available for Alexa users to explore.

Why Brands Should Care
As the list of Alexa skills grows longer, it was getting increasingly difficult for branded skills to cut through the clutter and stand out, and this revamp brings some much-needed structure and search capabilities for Alexa skills. Therefore, it is important for brands to properly name and tag their Alexa skills, make sure their skills are filed under the right category, and keep a close eye on this development to ensure the discoverability of their Alexa skills.

For more information on how brands can develop authentic brand voices and navigate the new interface, check out the Conversational Interfaces section in our Outlook 2016.

 

Source: Amazon Developers

Header image courtesy of  Amazon Developers

 

NBC Develops An Alexa Skill To Catch Up Viewers On Its Shows

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
NBC has become the first broadcast network to develop a skill for Amazon’s virtual assistant service Alexa. According to an exclusive report by GeekWire, NBC’s Alexa skill aims to provide an alternative way for people to catch up on some popular NBC programs, such as Saturday Night Live, The Voice, and Jimmy Fallon’s late night show. There is not much detail on exactly what types of content Alexa will dispense or how this skill works, but the network does share that a pre-recorded “flash briefing” segment was recorded during live episodes of The Voice for this Alexa skill. Previously, NBC News also created an Alexa skill to enable Echo users to ask Alexa for poll results and other news related to the election.

What Brands Need To Do
At first glance, Alexa may seem to be a mismatch for visual media content given its voice-based conversational interface. But NBC’s example, along with the audio adventure game that Warner Bros. created for Alexa in March to promote Batman vs. Superman, shows that it is possible for entertainment brands to insert their content into Alexa and turn it into a voice-enabled promotional channel. For other brands looking for new channels to distribute branded content, developing an Alexa skill is certainly an option worth exploring.

For more information on how brands can develop authentic brand voices and navigate the new interface, check out the Conversational Interfaces section in our Outlook 2016.

 

Source: GeekWire