Over the last few years, Alexa’s sweet, feminine voice has filled the homes of millions, but Amazon has now created a manly version. Amazon is late to the game; Apple and Google have had distinct voices in their virtual assistants for years, both feminine and male. But, late or not, it’s wonderful to see Amazon finally offering Alexa some options.
Amazon offers celebrity voices in addition to the two main Alexa voices (at the moment, you can pick from Samuel L. Jackson, Shaquille O’Neal, and Melissa McCarthy). These are set up to respond to specific phrases and inquiries – usually alarms and timers, jokes, or weather forecasts. They’re also $5 each. Any question to an Echo device that isn’t supported by the celebrity voice will be answered by Alexa’s default voice.
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You may alter Alexa’s voice on your Echo devices in two ways: through the device itself or through the Alexa app. It’s worth noting that changing the voice on the device proved less dependable for us; the app is the most secure way to do so.
You can only change the voice on the Echo device you’re now using; if you want to change the voice on additional Echo speakers or displays in your home, you’ll have to do it one at a time. The Alexa voice used by the smartphone app itself cannot be changed; it retains the original, feminine voice. Hopefully, Amazon will provide a means to update it worldwide for all Echo devices associated with an account in the future.
Without further ado, here’s how to change Alexa’s voice on an Echo device:
ON AN ECHO OR ECHO SHOW:
- Say the command “Alexa change your voice.”
- If you have more than one Echo, Alexa will ask you to specify the device.
- Say the name of the device you want to change the voice on.
- If it is successful, Alexa will respond with the new voice and confirm that is how it will sound going forward.
- If it doesn’t work, Alexa will say something to the effect of “Sorry, [name of your device] doesn’t support that.”
IN THE ALEXA APP FOR IOS OR ANDROID:
- Tap on the Devices tab at the bottom.
- Tap on the Echo & Alexa button in the top left.
- Tap on the device you want to change Alexa’s voice on.
- Tap the Settings cog wheel button in the upper right.
- Scroll down to the option for Alexa’s Voice and tap on it.
- Choose either Original (the feminine voice) or New (the masculine voice).
HOW TO USE A CELEBRITY VOICE:
- Say “Alexa introduce me to [name of celebrity].”
- Alexa will switch over to the celeb voice you’ve selected and explain the things you can do with it. If you want to purchase the voice, you will be asked to confirm the charge to your Amazon account.
- Once enabled, you can say “Hey [celeb name]” to wake the Echo device. You can also enable the voice on each Echo you want to use it on. The standard Alexa voice is still available if you use the Alexa wake word.