Alexa skill kit vs Alexa Voice Service

Alexa Skills Kit is for "making Alexa smarter" through developing custom skills.

Here's the SDK in Node.js that Amazon released on GitHub.

The prerequisite for these skills is that the user is already using an Alexa-enabled device, like the Echo or Echo Dot.

Alexa Voice Service SDK allows for device users to enable Alexa on any device with a microphone and speaker.

Here's the SDK in C++ that Amazon released on GitHub.

This means Alexa can end up in anything from a car to a smart fridge, if this SDK is used, which is super exciting!

Alexa Skill Kit (ASK) is for building skills that users will access via the Echo or other Alexa enabled devices (or apps).

The Alexa Voice Service (AVS) is for building those 'other Alexa enabled devices (or apps)'.

The Alexa Skill Kit is for creating skills that specifically run on the Amazon Echo or any other device that contains Alexa.

The Alexa Voice Service allows you to add Alexa's voice control to any product that has a microphone and speaker.

To Read more about Alexa Voice Service check out this link: https://developer.amazon.com/alexa-voice-service#How%20AVS%20Works