Chapter 9
Complementing Responses with Cards

Do you know anyone who talks with their hands? It’s such a common behavior, that a word was created to describe it: gesticulate. Some people like showing or drawing pictures to complement what they’re saying. And some people will interject the phrase “You just have to see it for yourself” when talking to someone.

Voice is the primary means of human communication, but it’s not the only way we communicate. Similarly, Alexa skills offer a voice-first form of user interface, but not necessarily a voice-only user interface. Pictures and text are great companions to spoken words, giving the listener additional material to consider as they hear what is spoken.

In this chapter, we’re going to look at cards, one way to add a visual complement to voice responses from Alexa skills.