Understanding the Workings of Amazon Alexa for Business Use Cases

Alexa is Amazon's Cloud-based Voice Service that is accessed through Amazon Echo. The Echo is a device that helps in speech recognition to perform an ever-growing range of tasks on the command that is called the built-in brains of this device "Alexa". It constantly learns from human data or we can say Data and machine learning are the foundation of Alexa's power. Alexa for business use cases is, therefore, only getting stronger with an increasingly high amount of data collected from customers. 

Backed by machine learning, we at Oodles, as an established Chatbot Development Company, explore how Alexa's voice-activated user interface is strengthening rapidly.

What is Alexa and its Skills?

Alexa provides Skills that allow users to interact or communicate with the devices. Alexa Skills help to do many things like they can answer questions, play games, play music, tell stories, play videoes, and many more. It is like an application that can be installed on our smartphone or tablet. Skill is the voice-driven Alexa application and capabilities or we can say Skills are the interface between users and Alexa and that makes it work.

As providers of Artificial Intelligence Services, the Oodles team enables businesses to use Alexa for augmenting their marketing and sales efforts. 

Types of Alexa devices

1. Amazon Echo 

It is the first generation Alexa device with plug-in power supplies at all times in order to work that supports cloud-based voice service and offers a hands-free listening experience. It's bass response is limited and treble is not as clean either as compared to Amazon Tap and DOt.

2. Echo Dot

Dot is a smaller version of the Amazon Echo without the speaker but we can connect the external speakers. It has a micro-USB port and a 3.5 mm port to plug in an external speaker. It also required plug-in power supplies at all times in order to work.

3. Amazon Tap 

This one is a portable device with an easy-carry design means we can take the device anywhere we want because it is fully portable and shorter and slimmer than the Echo. It is integrated with inbuilt battery supplies and powerful dual-stereo speakers which offers a better sound quality. 

Working Principles of Alexa

• When we connect the Alexa device with the internet using the WiFi network then it is listening mode and waiting for the word(Alexa) to wake up it. Every time it wakes up with the word "Alexa" and it serves only one voice command then returns to the listening mode. when we say the word "Alexa"  then it analyses the word and activates the device to work according to the given command by the user.

• An array of microphones are used in the Alexa device that can pick up our voice from across the room or within the limited range of the device. When we give the command to the Alexa device then it records our command and converts the spoken words into the text with the help of automatic speech recognition technology and sends it to the Alexa cloud to filter and analyzed the command.  

• Alexa cloud service analyzed the command and search over the internet to provide the appropriate result. Alexa cloud service sends the result back to the Alexa device with the same process in the reverse order.

Conclusion

Alexa is a highly interactive Artificial Intelligence program that can help to create a customizable living experience while also connecting other household devices to its central system. It is built based on natural language processing and a procedure of converting speech into words, sounds, and text. With the help of Alexa we can communicate using our voice, can listen to favorite songs, make shopping lists, set alarms, check weather and traffic updates, among various things which can be performed using our voice.