Amazon unveils new features for skill developers and device makers at Alexa Live

These announcements include the Alexa Connect Kit SDK for Matter, Alexa Ambient Home Dev Kit, Alexa Voice Service (AVS) SDK 3.0, multi-assistant voice experience updates, and skill monetization tooling. The event includes a keynote presentation from Dave Limp, SVP, Amazon Devices & Services, and other Amazon leaders including Aaron Rubenson, Vice President, Alexa Voice Service & Alexa Skills, and Jeff Blankenburg, Chief Technical Evangelist, Alexa, as well as breakout sessions for developers to learn more.

See below for a summary of key announcements. You can learn more about Alexa Live and what was announced today on the Alexa Developer blog. On-demand content, including keynote presentations, will be available after the conclusion of the event, on the Alexa Live homepage.

Key Announcements:

• Alexa Connect Kit SDK for Matter is a new software package that brings the benefits of ACK’s managed services to Matter devices, including cloud connectivity, and over-the-air (OTA) updates for device lifecycle management, logs, and metrics. [See here for more info]
• Alexa Ambient Home Dev Kit includes a new collection of APIs and services that will extend a variety of Alexa smart home features to developers and provide a more unified ambient smart home experience for customers. [See here for more info]
• Alexa Voice Service (AVS) SDK 3.0 combines the Alexa Smart Screen SDK and the AVS Device SDK and will provide device makers with the foundational tools to build compelling and engaging Alexa voice and multimodal experiences across a variety of device categories. [See here for more info]
• Multi-assistant voice experiences:
  • Universal Device Commands (UDCs) and Agent Transfers (ATs) are future capabilities for multi-simultaneous wake word experiences that will make it easier for customers to interact with multiple voice services on the same device. Amazon plans to enable cloud side support for UDCs and ATs within the next year.
• Alexa Shopping Kit includes a comprehensive suite of features that allow skill builders to embed shopping experiences within their skill. Customers can discover, research, and purchase relevant products — all without leaving a skill experience. [See here for more info]