In September 2016, we announced that Amazon Echo, Echo Dot and Alexa were coming to the UK and Germany. Since then, developers have created hundreds of great new skills for customers in these countries. Today we’re excited to announce that the community website Echosim.io has made it even easier for you to build and test your skills by adding new language models for English (UK) and German.

Experience Alexa for the UK and Germany through Echosim.io

Echosim.io is a web-based simulator for Alexa, created by combining the Alexa Voice Service (AVS) and JavaScript animations. AVS, available in the UK and Germany starting today, enables you to build and launch products with Alexa. With the latest AVS integration on Echosim.io, developers can toggle the language model between English (US), English (UK) and German.

Echosim.io lives in your browser, so anyone, anywhere can access it and test their Alexa skills. You don’t need an Alexa-enabled device to test your skills. Developers worldwide can use Echosim.io to experience Alexa in UK and US English, as well as German. Echosim.io is a community website inspired by UK-based developer Sam Machin’s AlexaWeb project and developed and hosted by iQuarius Media. Since its release in spring 2016, developers have tested their skills hundreds of thousands of times.

To test a skill, visit Echosim.io, select the language you’d like to use and login with your Amazon developer account. Then, click and hold the microphone button and speak your skill’s invocation phrase in the appropriate language. If you don’t have a skill yet, you can experience Echosim.io by logging in with your Amazon account. For example, in English, you might say “Alexa, what’s the weather today?” When you let go of the button, Echosim.io processes and responds to your voice request – give it a try.

Build and Test UK English and German Skills

You can deliver the right content to your customers in each of the supported regions from a single code base. Visit our blog to learn how to build multi-language skills for Alexa. You can test your skills in development on Echosim.io, which looks and behaves similarly to how an Amazon Echo would.

Resources for Developers in the UK and Germany

Want to build an Alexa skill of your own? A thriving local Alexa developer community at Developer.Amazon.com/ask/uk and Developer.Amazon.com/ask/de as well as our own team of local Alexa evangelists are on hand to help. We want developers from around the world to join the voice design movement. Access Ask the Expert sessions every second Tuesday at 12 p.m. GMT and 1 p.m. CET), webinars, hackathons and register for our Hello Alexa events as well as learn best practices and get personalized solutions for your Alexa skill. You can also access the global Alexa developer resources, we’ve even got a bi-weekly Alexa podcast.

Remember, each month we offer free, limited-edition t-shirts or hoodies to all developers who publish a skill. We now have custom designs for the UK and Germany.

Get Started Now

Getting started is easiest with our step-by-step Alexa skill tutorial.