Amazon Alexa wants to be your next work BFF
Ever wish you had a robo-buddy to help at work but not got the technical nous to build one? Well you may be in luck. Amazon has just launched a fancy new Alexa for business “blueprint” system to help you do just that.
The service launched late on Thursday (UK time) and is designed to make it easier for workers to create custom skills for the digital assistant.
Amazon product marketing manager Ben Grossman said the “Private Skills” will let Alexa securely access corporate data removing any potential security risks.
“Private skills are voice-powered capabilities that enhance the Alexa experience while remaining private to members of an Alexa for Business organization. Skill Blueprints are so easy to use, people have used them extensively to create Alexa skills for their households,” read the post.
“Now anyone at the office can do the same for their workplace, simply by filling in custom requests and responses in one of dozens of easy-to-use Blueprints. IT administrators can then review and enable that content for the company’s users and managed Alexa-enabled devices.”
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The company’s already created templates for business Q&A, onboard guiding, flash briefing, diary and “university”, skills. This means you’ll be able to quiz Alexa about your latest market forecasts report or book holiday like a true 80s guy using nothing but voice commands.
While this sounds awesome you may want to keep things professional with your new Alexa work buddy, as the new blueprints also work with HR systems, according to Amazon.
Businesses could previously make private skills for Alexa but according to Grossman the process was too complex and time consuming. He claimed the new system will let companies make skills without the need to write a single line of code.
Related: Amazon Alexa guide
“Some companies attempting to develop custom Alexa skills found they didn’t have the resources to build their own private skills, which can take several months to design and release to their organization,” read the blog post.
“Starting today, organizations of any size can create private skills using Alexa for Business Blueprints, regardless of budget, without needing developers to write a single line of code.”
Excited about having Alexa as a work buddy? Let us know on Twitter @TrustedReviews.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
