question

Mr Jamie Higgins avatar image
Mr Jamie Higgins asked

Finding a workable invocation name for my app skill

I'm creating an alexa skill for my Android automation App called MacroDroid. I'm going to support multiple languages and I'm having trouble finding a workable invocation name.

Ideally I'd like to be able to say: Alexa, run <some_name> in MacroDroid

In English when I say this to alexa it usually picks up macro and droid as two separate words. This could be workable by setting my invocation name to "macro droid", but unfortunately it doesn't work at all for other languages.

In French I'd like to be able to say something like: Alexa, demande à MacroDroid les test

I've been trying to say MacroDroid to a french alexa and it can't pick this up at all, and is usually completely different words that are picked up. I really want to keep my brand/app name as part of the invocation name but I can't figure out any way to do it. Is there any way to train Alexa to recognise MacroDroid as a keyword in multiple languages?

alexainvocation name
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2 Answers

Mr Jamie Higgins avatar image
Mr Jamie Higgins answered

I guess there is not much hope for me solving this. I have contacted Amazon separately to ask the same question with no response. I would love to release a new skill for my app but ultimately if I can't make it invoke-able by my app name then there is no way I can release it.

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Naroa avatar image Naroa commented ·
Any updates on this?
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Mr Jamie Higgins avatar image Mr Jamie Higgins Naroa commented ·
I have got nothing back from Amazon, so to be honest I just gave up on Alexa and spent my time developing other features.
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Charlie@Amazon avatar image
Charlie@Amazon answered

Hi Jamie,

Based on your question, I understand you are developing your skill in multiple locales all with your app name "MacroDroid" as the invocation, but you're running into recognition issues due to the varying languages of each locale. Let me know if I've missed any details.

First, I do want to let you know that it's possible and allowed to use a brand name such as this for your invocation where appropriate (documentation here), but the catch is it might not be well recognized by Alexa as it's an "unfamiliar word", especially across various languages.

That said, there are steps we can take internally in cases such as yours to try to improve the recognition of your invocation. Because there will be additional details we need from you throughout the process, please reach out via Contact Us and we'll be happy to investigate.

Also, if you can provide activity keys of the misrecognitions in your first contact it will help expedite the process. To find an activity key, you'll follow the steps detailed here.

Let's get your skill launching right!

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