Amazon Alexa* Skills for the PC

The PC is getting smarter. Change how you use a PC by combining voice services with the built-in capabilities of Amazon Alexa* skills.

Overview

Alexa and other voice services (like Google Assistant*) deliver unique capabilities such as streaming music, smart home control, ordering food, and more on smart speakers and smart displays. Now that Alexa is enabled to run on Windows® 10 devices, this same experience is possible on a PC. The PC is a powerful device because of its compute capability, storage, screen size, connectivity, I/O, and open platform attributes.

Using a hybrid model of cloud and PC, skill functions are handled by the Alexa Voice Service* (cloud) and implemented on a linked PC. When combined with voice services, the PC becomes more valuable due to its unique abilities, enhanced by the creativity of skill developers and voice service vendors.

Video: Amazon Alexa Skills Overview

Get Started

Step 1

Gather Required Hardware & Software

To get started, you need the following items:

  • An Amazon Web Services (AWS)* account
  • An Alexa Development Console account
  • Microsoft Visual Studio* 2017 (or later) with an MSI installer extension
  • A microphone and a device compatible with Alexa for testing and development 
  • A PC running the Windows 10 operating system
  • Intel® Core™ i5 processor or higher is recommended to meet limited response time requirements imposed by Alexa Skills
  • 4 GB of RAM (minimum)

Step 2

Download the AWS Setup Guide

Build the AWS infrastructure that is required to support a PC skill, which includes Alexa Skills Kit (ASK), AWS Lambda, AWS Cognito, and AWS Simple Queue Service (SQS). The instructions include a script to automate the AWS configuration process.

Setup with Cloud Formation Services

Manual Setup

Step 3

Download the PC Skills Framework API User Guide

Use this document to effectively integrate your skill with the PC Skills Framework API and use functions, classes, return types, arguments, and more.

Documentation

Step 4

Download Sample Skills and Source Code

Download the Source Code

PC Search Guide

Create a search skill that uses voice commands to locate files on a PC.

PC Automation Skills Guide

Develop a skill that lets users navigate Windows* configuration pages.

PC Arrange Windows* Guide

Create a skill that arranges Windows applications on the user's desktop.

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