Amazon to stop paying developers for making Alexa skills. With this new development, it simply means that Amazon will be ending its development reward program after June 30th, 2024.
Amazon to Stop Paying Developers for Making Alexa Skills
Amazon has announced that it will discontinue paying developers to create skills for Alexa after June 30th, 2024. This decision marks the end of a program that started in 2017, where Amazon provided developers with a $100 monthly credit to Amazon Web Services (AWS) and paid them based on the popularity of their skills.
While some developers earned thousands of dollars each month during the early stages of the program, many did not generate significant revenue from their skills. Amazon began reducing the amount of money it paid developers in 2020, citing the skills’ limited profitability for the company.
Amazon’s Broader Efforts to Streamline Its Alexa Division
The decision to end these payment programs is part of Amazon’s broader efforts to streamline its Alexa division. Last year, the company laid off hundreds of workers in this division as it focused on enhancing Alexa’s capabilities with artificial intelligence (AI).
Additionally, Amazon has introduced large language model (LLM) tools to enable developers to create AI-powered experiences for Alexa.
Amazon Focused On These Newer Tools That Make Use of LLMs
Amazon spokesperson Lauren Raemhild reveals to The Verge that the company is now focused on these newer tools that make use of LLMs. “These are older programs launched back in 2017 as a way to help newer developers interested in building skills accelerate their progress,” Raemhild stated. “These older programs have simply run their course, so we decided to sunset them.”
Alexa Developers Reward Program
Raemhild reports that fewer than 1 percent of Alexa developers were still utilizing either reward program. While developers can continue to earn revenue through in-skill purchases, where users pay for content within the developer’s skill, it is unlikely to replace the direct monthly payments from Amazon fully.
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