The New York Times Gets Into Voice with 5 New Alexa Skills
The New York Times launches five new Alexa skills including a daily briefing and an innovative print-to-voice bridge.
The New York Times embraces voice technology by launching five new Alexa skills for Amazon Echo devices. The standout feature is a weekday flash briefing hosted by Michael Barbaro of "The Daily" podcast, which users access easily by asking Alexa for their Flash Briefing to hear the top stories.
Readers also gain access to a Friday news quiz created by The Daily's producers and an innovative print-to-voice bridge. This unique Sunday feature prompts print readers to launch dedicated Alexa skills to dive deeper into stories they are currently reading in the physical newspaper.
The NYT's Digital Lab builds these new voice experiences in partnership with Xandra, a creative studio that focuses specifically on voice technology. This launch represents just the first phase of the publication's overall voice strategy, though skill discovery remains a massive hurdle for all publishers on voice platforms.