Ads are coming to Amazon Echo skills

If the Beauty and the Beast and Burger King debacles were anything to go by, owners of smart speakers like the Google Home aren't big fans of ads. But that won't stop marketing companies like VoiceLabs from trying to make them happen. The voice analytics company has announced a new platform called Sponsored Messages, which will let developers monetize their Amazon Echo skills by inserting ads at the start and end of conversations. VoiceLabs says Sponsored Messages are between 6 and 15 seconds long and are positioned at the beginning and end of interactions in order to "lead a consumer into an experience or converse with the consumer as they exit." An example provided to CNET by VoiceLabs CEO Adam Marchick suggests a developer of a sports podcast skill may decide to partner with ESPN, one of the early Sponsored Messages partners.