In this section, we will strive to understand what makes Alexa, the personal assistant bundled with Amazon Echo, so smart. The sole reason that Alexa can follow and understand a user's voice commands is because it has skills, and not just in a literal sense, but also in an actual sense.
An Alexa Skill is an actual piece of software code designed for a singular purpose; that is, to make Alexa accomplish a certain task. The following are some examples:
- There is an Alexa Skill to order pizza from Domino's Pizza
- There is an Alexa Skill to summon Uber
- There is an Alexa Skill to order flowers
- There is an Alexa Skill to listen to your horoscope
The number of skills available for Alexa has been steadily growing since 2016. As of early 2018, there are over 30,000 third-party skills available for Alexa in the US alone:
Figure 2.6: Growth...
