Consumers are starting to give Alexa’s voice apps, called skills, more of their attention. During CES this week – where Amazon is battling for attention with Google Assistant across the consumer technology spectrum on display here – the company detailed a few new numbers related to skill adoption and new ways they’re helping consumers find skills they’d like.
While Amazon a few days ago noted in a blog post[1] that Alexa now has over 30,000 skills available worldwide, it hasn’t shared much in terms of whether the skills are actually seeing much use.
The company still isn’t sharing hard numbers related to skill installs, or day-to-day usage, but it is offering at least a tiny peek under the curtain.
According to numbers shared by Vice President of Alexa Voice Services and Alexa Skills at Amazon Steve Rabuchin at CES, Amazon last year launched over 100 tools and features aimed at skill developers, and skill usage is now on the rise as a result of the improvements in developer technology.
Specifically, skill engagement has increased by 50 percent year-over-year, and it’s up nearly 75 percent since last January.
Now, Amazon is focusing on making sure the ecosystem rewards skill developers for their efforts, while better exposing skills to end users, as well.
The company has paid out “millions” to developers in 22 countries, including the U.S., the U.K. and Germany, since the launch of the rewards program in May, which pays top skill developers for building engaging skills.
It also added in-skill purchases and subscriptions.
Amazon last fall rolled out new ways to help consumers find those skills, too. For example, Alexa learned how to suggest skills[2] to Echo owners when they asked a question...