Amazon now supports more than 70,000 Alexa skills, shares top skills of 2018

Amazon has shared some year-end milestones for the Alexa skills behind its smart speakers. The company said that there are now more than 70,000 Alexa skills worldwide, growing from the 50,000 announced in September 2018. Most of these skills are for users in the United States, with about 78% of the global total available to that market.

Amazon also shared a list of what it dubbed the top 25 Alexa skills of 2018. A representative from the company said the list was assembled based on customer reviews, engagement, innovation, and other factors. Amazon also appears to have selected the skills based on appeal as a potential first experience for new Alexa device owners.

Gimlet Media’s Chompers, an audio skill for helping kids to build good dental hygiene habits; TuneIn Live, the live sports and news skill from TuneIn; and the AnyPod podcast service from Harrison Digital Media were included on the list. The other skills represented a range of possible interactions with an Alexa-enabled device, such as checking for progress from a Fitbit athletics tracker or a trivia quiz from National Geographic.