Alexa's skills can now work together, first for reservations and printing – TechCrunch

This morning, Amazon announced a new way for customers to use Alexa's skills – together, in combined applications. In other words, you can start a request in one skill and then satisfy it in another. For example, the AllRecipes skill can now combine HP expertise to print recipes for customers, Amazon says.

This is the first of many upcoming combined skills.

Skill Connections, as it is called the developer feature, can initially be used to perform three types of actions: printing, booking, or commuting.

This means that future skills could allow you to book a concert ticket via a skill, and then connect to a taxi skill to find you in the show. The idea is that the client would not have to rely on different skills separately to perform the task they wanted to perform (ie go to a show), or repeat information. Instead, the data is passed from one jurisdiction to the other.

This is not the first time that Alexa has tried to tie her skills in one way or another, but this is the first time she has allowed two skills to speak to each other. Previously, Alexa made game recommendations when customers left a skill, to allow Alexa's users to discover new content that might be of interest to them. But it was more of a boost to launch another skill, not a direct link between the two.

Skill Connections launches a preview for developers starting today. During this trial period, printing will be provided by HP expertise, OpenTable food reservations and Uber taxi bookings. Epson and Canon will soon provide printing services, notes Amazon.

Skills can also benefit from Amazon Pay for Alexa and Skills Purchases announced earlier this year.

Developers who are accepted in the preview may, for example, suggest printing a game's leaderboard using the HP Skill or booking a taxi at a location where you've made a booking, Amazon also suggests. To be taken into account, developers must first fill out a questionnaire.

Developers can apply either to connect their skills to those of HP, OpenTable or Uber, or to offer services for other skills. The feature will remain in test for now, with a public launch planned for a later date, but unknown to date.