Alexa users can use voice assistant to make Skype calls

Starting this week, Microsoft makes it possible to start or take calls via Skype with Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant. This capability is coming to several Amazon Echo speakers from 2018, as well as the Echo Show.

Microsoft reports that users of different Echo devices can use multiple voice commands to command Alexa to, for example, call a specific Skype contact or take an incoming call. The Amazon Show, a smart speaker with a display, can also be used for video calls.

To take advantage of Skype support, Amazon Echo device users need to open the Amazon Alexa app on their smartphone and log into the settings with their Skype or Microsoft account.

It was already clear that the integration of Alexa and Skype was coming, as Microsoft announced it back in September. Amazon also recently released an Alexa app for computers running Windows 10, although only users in the US, UK and Germany can already use it; other regions will follow sometime in 2019.