Build Talking Apps for Alexa: Creating Voice-First, Hands-Free User Experiences

Length: 390 pages
Edition: 1
Language: English
Publisher: Pragmatic Bookshelf
Publication Date: 2022-05-31
ISBN-10: 1680507257
ISBN-13: 9781680507256
Sales Rank: #3543862 (See Top 100 Books)

Voice recognition is here at last. Alexa and other voice assistants have now become widespread and mainstream. Is your app ready for voice interaction? Learn how to develop your own voice applications for Amazon Alexa. Start with techniques for building conversational user interfaces and dialog management. Integrate with existing applications and visual interfaces to complement voice-first applications. The future of human-computer interaction is voice, and we’ll help you get ready for it.

For decades, voice-enabled computers have only existed in the realm of science fiction. But now the Alexa Skills Kit (ASK) lets you develop your own voice-first applications. Leverage ASK to create engaging and natural user interfaces for your applications, enabling them to listen to users and talk back. You’ll see how to use voice and sound as first-class components of user-interface design.

We’ll start with the essentials of building Alexa voice applications, called skills, including useful tools for creating, testing, and deploying your skills. From there, you can define parameters and dialogs that will prompt users for input in a natural, conversational style.

Integrate your Alexa skills with Amazon services and other backend services to create a custom user experience. Discover how to tailor Alexa’s voice and language to create more engaging responses and speak in the user’s own language. Complement the voice-first experience with visual interfaces for users on screen-based devices. Add options for users to buy upgrades or other products from your application. Once all the pieces are in place, learn how to publish your Alexa skill for everyone to use.

Create the future of user interfaces using the Alexa Skills Kit today.

What You Need:

You will need a computer capable of running the latest version of Node.js, a Git client, and internet access.

Acknowledgments
Introduction
Who Should Read This Book?
About This Book
Online Resources
1. Alexa, Hello
How Alexa Works
Dissecting Skills
Installing the ASK CLI
Creating Your First Alexa Skill
Deploying the Skill
Wrapping Up
2. Testing Alexa Skills
Considering Skill Testing Styles
Semi-Automated Testing
Automated Testing with Alexa Skill Test Framework
Automated Testing with Bespoken’s BST
Wrapping Up
3. Parameterizing Intents with Slots
Adding Slots to an Intent
Fetching Entity Information
Creating Custom Types
Extending Built-In Types
Enabling Flexibility with Synonyms
Handling Multi-Value Slots
Wrapping Up
4. Creating Multi-Turn Dialogs
Adding Dialogs and Prompts in the Interaction Model
Eliciting Missing Slot Values
Validating Slot Values
Confirming Slots
Explicitly Handling Dialog Delegation
Wrapping Up
5. Integrating User Data
Accessing a User’s Amazon Info
Linking with External APIs
Wrapping Up
6. Embellishing Response Speech
Getting to Know SSML
Testing SSML with the Text-to-Speech Simulator
Changing Alexa’s Voice
Adjusting Pronunciation
Inserting Breaks in Speech
Adding Sound Effects and Music
Applying SSML in Skill Responses
Escaping Reserved Characters
Writing Responses with Markdown
Wrapping Up
7. Mixing Audio
Introducing APL for Audio
Authoring APL-A Templates
Making a Sound
Combining Sounds
Applying Filters
Defining Custom Components
Returning APL-A Responses
Wrapping Up
8. Localizing Responses
Translating the Interaction Model
Localizing Spoken Responses
Testing Localization
Fixing Language Pronunciation
Using Language-Specific Voices
Wrapping Up
9. Complementing Responses with Cards
Embellishing Responses with Cards
Returning Simple Cards
Rendering Images on Cards
Wrapping Up
10. Creating Visual Responses
Introducing the Alexa Presentation Language
Creating a Rich APL Document
Applying Styles
Defining Resource Values
Injecting Model Data
Handling Touch Events
Wrapping Up
11. Sending Events
Publishing Proactive Events
Sending Reminders
Wrapping Up
12. Selling Stuff
Creating Products
Handling Purchases
Upselling Products
Refunding a Purchase
Wrapping Up
13. Publishing Your Skill
Tying Up Loose Ends
Completing the Skill Manifest
Submitting for Certification and Publication
Promoting Your Skill with Quick Links
Gathering Usage Metrics
Wrapping Up
14. Defining Conversational Flows
Introducing Alexa Conversations
Starting a New Alexa Conversations Project
Getting to know ACDL
Defining the Conversation Model
Simplifying the Conversation Model
Defining Response Templates
Handling the Action Request
Deploying and Testing the Conversation
Wrapping Up
A1. Running and Debugging Skill Code Locally
Deploy Your Skill
Running Skill Code Locally
Debugging Skill Code
A2. Troubleshooting Your Skill
“Hmmm. I don’t know that one.” or “Hmmm. I have a few skills that can help.”
A Skill Other Than the One You Expect Is Launched
An Utterance Is Handled by the Wrong Intent Handler
You See “<Audio Only>” in the Response
“There was a problem with the requested skill’s response.”
“You just triggered {Some Intent}.”
Skill ID Not Found when Deploying a Skill
“Sorry, I had trouble doing what you asked. Please try again.”