Amazon doubled its Alexa Skills count over the last year

January 3, 2019 Off By jrtrombold@gmail.com

More about artificial intelligence

Amazon’s Alexa Skill count in the US totaled nearly 25,784 at the beginning of 2018, and reached 56,750 at the start of 2019, according to a Tuesday report from Voicebot.ai. At a 120% growth, the Alexa Skill count increase from 2018 to 2019 is significant, but not as impressive as the 266% growth seen between 2017 and 2018 in the US, the report added.

Alexa is Amazon’s digital assistant, present in smart speakers, smartphones, and smart office gadgets. What makes Alexa the most powerful, however, is its third party app integration: Alexa Skills. The apps don’t come preinstalled, but are instead chosen by the user, which individualizes the Alexa experience.

SEE: 21 technical Alexa skills IT pros should know (Tech Pro Research)

Amazon Alexa is arguably the most popular and most successful digital assistant, as the company holds 41% of the market share. Much of this success can be attributed to its impressive amount of third-party app options. Siri and Cortana don’t even have similar app integration abilities, and Google Assistant has barely surpassed 2,000 Actions.

Some argue that the number of Alexa Skills doesn’t necessarily mean much, according to the report, as many of the Skills are low-quality or poorly developed. However, the report argued that these poorly-designed apps are difficult to find for the average user, who typically uses more well-known apps.

The Skills growth is evidence of developer commitment to Alexa, according to the report. Developer commitment is vital for the success of any new product, which was evident in the PC and mobile phases, the report added.

Even though Alexa Skills growth wasn’t as large this past year as it was the year before, the growth rate is still significant. This growth shows both the relevance and sustainability of Alexa among consumers, proving its potential for further development in the smart home tech world.

To learn more about Amazon Alexa Skills, check out TechRepublic’s Amazon Skills cheat sheet.

The big takeaways for tech leaders:

Amazon Alexa Skills doubled in 2018, at a 120% growth rate in the US. — Voicebot.ai., 2019
The growth is evidence of developer commitment to the Amazon Alexa platform, indicating consistent relevance in the market. — Voicebot.ai., 2019