About Answer Groups

What is Answer Groups?

Answer Groups allows Alexa users the ability to create communities that can be used for sharing information on topics of interest. For example, a school might create a group where parents can get need-to-know information about activities and events, a gaming group might share information about game-winning strategies, and a fan group may share information about their favorite music artist. Information shared within groups is accessible via Alexa to group members, and may be shared outside the group as well. Answer Groups makes it easy to exchange information with others who have the same shared interests using the convenience of voice.

What benefits does Answer Groups bring me as an Alexa user?

Answer Groups offers two key benefits: 1) connection to others with shared interests and purpose – you can connect with Alexa users who have similar interests locally, or around the world, and share information with each other, and 2) convenience – you can get information for hard to find topics using just your voice, without having to stop what you are doing to search the web or social media, or email or call someone.

Why should I join a group?

Information shared in Answer Groups is available to anyone on the website, but joining a group offers additional benefits that include: 1) connecting with people who have similar interests, 2) posting new questions to the group via the website or via Alexa, and 3) answering questions posted by other group members (website only).

What kinds of Answer Groups can I join?

Answer Groups cover many information categories including fan groups for sports and entertainment, hobbies, education, travel, and local community organizations to name a few.

How can I discover groups I may want to join?

There are two ways to discover groups: 1) if you’re using the website you can either search for groups by keyword, or browse from a list by clicking on the “Browse Groups” tab, or 2) when you ask Alexa questions you may hear an answer that came from a group (“According to the answer group NASA Moon to Mars...”).

Who can participate in Answer Groups?

All Amazon customers in the United States or Canada with an Amazon account are eligible to participate on answergroups.amazon.ca. Participation is voluntary. Amazon customers may become ineligible to participate if the Community Guidelines or the Amazon Conditions of Use are violated.

Do I need an Alexa device to participate?

Answer Groups has both a web and voice experience that work hand-in-hand. For example, if you are a member of multiple groups, you may find it easier to browse through recent question and answer activity via the website. If you’re on-the-go and want to see if a group you belong to has an answer to a question, then you could do so via Alexa.

What are the rules of participation?

Community members are expected to provide quality questions and answers, and behave respectfully to others on the website, and abide by the Amazon Conditions of Use. You can read more about community and contribution rules in our Community Guidelines. Community members that do not abide by these guidelines may have their content removed and their accounts suspended or banned.

How can I stay up-to-date on Answer Groups?

You can stay up-to-date on the latest news for Answer Groups by subscribing to our newsletter or following our blog.

How do I provide feedback about Answer Groups?

You can provide feedback to the Answer Groups team by navigating to the “Get Help” page. From there, you can choose to post to the forums or contact Amazon Support.

Groups

Who can create a group?

Any community member can create a group. You may decide that you want to create your own group, either because no group is available for your area of interest, or because you're extremely passionate about a topic and want to make this information available to Alexa users. Creating a group entails certain responsibilities including writing group rules, managing membership, and moderating content. Please refer to the Group Admin Guidelines for more information.

What is the difference between an Open vs Invite-Only group?

Answer Groups offers two types of groups: Open and Invite-only. Anyone can join an Open group. Invite-only groups require an invitation from the Group Admin. Examples of Open groups might be celebrity fan groups, sports team groups, or hobby groups. Examples of Invite-only groups might be organizations like schools, clubs, or neighborhood associations.

What are group categories?

When creating a group you will be asked to select a category from a predefined list. Categories help community members discover your group on the Browse Groups page.

When can I access a group I created via Alexa?

When creating a group, there is a 15-20 minute delay before the group is accessible via Alexa. This is because Alexa needs time to learn your new groups exists.

Why are there restrictions for group names?

To ensure compatibility with Alexa skills and devices, we need to adhere to specific requirements for naming groups. Group names must comply with the following requirements:

1. The name must not infringe upon the intellectual property rights of an entity or person.
2. One-word names are not allowed.
3. Group names which are names of people or places (for example, “molly,” “seattle”) are not allowed, unless they contain other words in addition to the name (for example, “molly’s horoscope”).
4. Two word names are not allowed if one of the words is a definite article (“the”), indefinite article (“a,” “an”) or preposition (“and”, “for,” “to,” “of”). For example, “a bicycle,” “an espresso,” “to amuse,” “for fun.”
5. The name must not contain any of the Alexa skill launch phrases. Launch phrase examples include "run," "start," "play," "resume," "use," "launch," "ask," "open," "tell," "load," "begin," and "enable."
6. The name must not contain the wake words “Alexa,” “Amazon,” “Echo,” or the words “skill” or “app.”

How do I join a group?

You can join a group via Alexa, or the Answer Groups website. To join via Alexa, simply say: “Alexa, join the {group name} answer group” and Alexa will confirm that she heard you correctly and add you to the group. On the website, there are two ways to join a group. On the Browse Groups page, you can search for groups that may interest you, and click on the “Join this group” icon. You can also join by clicking the “Join to Answer” button on a question, and then clicking “Join”.

How do I hear answers to questions in my group via Alexa?

Be sure your Alexa enabled device is linked to the same Amazon account you use for Answer Groups. If it is not, you may need to switch the Amazon account your device is linked to.

Questions and Answers on the Website

How do I post a question?

To post a question to a group that you are a member of, visit the website, click on the group name to view the group page, then type your question in the “Ask a Question” field. While typing your question, you will be shown similar questions that may be helpful or of interest to you. Click the submit button or hit enter on your keyboard to post the question to the group.

Can I edit a question after I have posted it?

Yes. To edit your question, click on the options menu (three dots) that appears to the right of the question, then select “Edit Question”. A modal will appear with the option to edit your question. Once you are satisfied with your edits, click “Submit Edit“.

What makes a good question?

Good questions should be well-formed, concise, and free of spelling and grammatical mistakes. When posting a new question, think about someone asking Alexa this question.

How do I contribute answers to questions in a group?

To answer a question, you must first be a member of the group. To join the group, click the “Join to Answer” button next to the question. Once you have joined, click the “Answer” button. Type your answer in the field provided and click the “Submit” button.

What makes a good answer?

Good answers respond to the question briefly, directly, and accurately, in a contributor’s own words. They do not contain any content that is obscene, threatening, defamatory, invasive of privacy, or infringing of intellectual property rights (including publicity rights). To learn more about writing answers, please see the Answer Guidelines.

How can I find questions or answers that I’ve submitted?

To find your submitted questions or answers, click on your profile icon on the top right hand side of the website. Select ‘Your Profile’. Click the drop down menu next to ‘Show’, and select the content you would like to see.

How and when are my answers shared with the group?

After you submit an answer, it will be visible to all members on the website, and also available to group members via Alexa. Some answers may be shared by Alexa with other Alexa users who ask the question.

Content Moderation

What happens to my questions or answers after submission?

We want to ensure a positive experience for everyone using Answer Groups. All questions and answers are reviewed by our automated content moderation system after being submitted. Approved content is immediately visible on the website. Prohibited content will blocked. Suspect content is flagged for review and will not be publicly visible until a Group Admin has approved it. Please refer to the Answer Groups Content Policy for more information.

What types of content are not accepted?

Some types of content are considered prohibited and are not tolerated on Answer Groups. Please refer to the Answer Groups Content Policy for more information.

How do I report inappropriate content or behavior in a group?

A group can be reported from the options menu at the top right of the groups page. A question or answer can be reported by clicking on the flag next to the content. A user can be reported by visiting the user’s profile page and clicking on the Report User link.

What are flagged questions and answers?

Flagged questions and answers were reported by members of the community or flagged by Group Admins as not conforming to the Answer Groups Content Policy. Flagged answers are not visible to the rest of the community or group members, and are not shared with Alexa users. If one of your answers is flagged, you can rewrite and resubmit your answer to address the reason for flagging.

How can I edit or remove my answers?

To edit your answer, click on the three dots to the right of your answer and select “Edit.” Click on “Submit” after making any revisions. To remove your answer, click on the three dots to the right of your answer and select “Remove Answer”. You will then be asked to confirm by clicking on “Remove.”

Can I promote my product, business or myself in my answers?

No. Promotional content such as advertisements or solicitation (whether direct or indirect) are not permitted. Please refer to the Answer Groups Content Policy for more information.

Can I tell jokes or write humorous responses?

The intention of Answer Groups is for knowledge sharing. There are certain content areas which we discourage from being shared to the website, such as jokes or humorous content. However, we leave the removal of such content to the discretion of the individual Group Admin. Please refer to the Answer Groups Content Policy for more information.

What does it mean if I’ve been warned or suspended?

If we identify inappropriate or abusive behavior - including creating creating prohibited or inappropriate groups, questions or answers - you may receive a warning. If the behavior continues your account will be suspended. Community members may be blocked from the using the website permanently if they continually violate our Community Guidelines or the Amazon Conditions of Use

Activity Feed

What is the activity feed?

The activity feed is your home page on Answer Groups. After signing-in, you will see all recent questions and answers that have been posted to the website. In addition to browsing activity, you can also answer questions, join groups, up/down vote answers, and flag questions from this view.

How can I sort my feed to see information that I’m most interested in?

You can sort your feed in several ways to find what interests you the most. Using the “Show” filter, questions can be sorted by “Popular Questions”, “Most Recent Activity” and “Unanswered Questions.” Using the “From” filter, questions can be shown from “All Groups” on the website, “Groups I’ve Joined” and “Groups I Admin”.

Using Alexa

Can I join and leave a group via Alexa?

Yes. If you know the name of the group you would like to join, simply say, “Alexa, join the {group name} group”. If Alexa finds a group with that name she will confirm that you want to join it before doing so.

Can I ask a question to a group via Alexa?

If you are a member of a group you can ask that group a question via Alexa by saying, “Alexa, ask the {group name}...”. If the question has been previously asked, Alexa will provide the answer. If the question has not been previously asked, Alexa will ask you if you want to post the question to the group.

Can I give an answer to a question via Alexa?

Not at this time.

How do I leave a group via Alexa?

You can leave a group you no longer wish to be a member of by saying, “Alexa, leave the {group name} group.” Alexa will ask for confirmation before removing you from the group.

Profile and Settings

How does Answer Groups use my Amazon Public Profile?

Alexa Answers and Answer Groups use your Amazon Public Profile. Your Amazon Public Profile page is where you can share information about yourself, your interests, and opinions regarding various Amazon products and services. This page is open to the public. By default, the Amazon Public Profile will not disclose any personal information other than your username.

Can I contribute anonymously?

While your account cannot be anonymous on Answer Groups, you can use a pseudonym for your Amazon Public Profile username. You are not required to use your real name. You can update your username and settings from your Amazon Public Profile page.

I contribute anonymously to Alexa Answers, how will I appear in Answer Groups?

If you contribute anonymously on Alexa Answers, your Answer Groups profile will not link to your Anonymous profile. Instead, other users viewing your profile will see the message, “This user contributes anonymously.”

How do I update my username or avatar on my profile?

To update your username or avatar, navigate to your Amazon Public Profile page. Changing your Amazon Public Profile username and avatar will change it on Alexa Answers, Answer Groups, Amazon Reviews, and across the Amazon website.

Deleting Content

Can I delete a question I posted to a group?

If the question has no answers yet, you can remove the question from the website. If a question already has answers, you can choose to remove your profile from being associated with the question by clicking on the question’s options menu (three dots). Your username and profile will no longer appear on the question, but it will still remain visible on the website.

Can I delete an answer I submitted?

Yes. You can delete an answer you submitted by clicking on the answer’s options menu.

Can I delete my Answer Groups account?

In order to delete your Answer Groups account, you will need to close your Amazon account. Please refer to the Amazon Help documentation.

If I delete my voice history in the Alexa app, what happens to questions I asked to a group via voice?

Questions posted to an Answer Group via voice are not deleted. If you wish to remove a question posted to a group via voice, you must visit the website and remove the question there. If there is activity (an answer) on the question, you can remove (disassociate) yourself from the question.