In recent years, Alexa’s feminine voice has filled the homes of millions, but it was in 2021 only that Amazon unveiled its masculine counterpart. Not just that the company also lets you choose Alexa to sound in celebrity voices. For instance, you can choose between Samuel L. Jackson, Shaquille O’Neal, and Melissa McCarthy in the US. Meanwhile, Amitabh Bachchan is the first Bollywood celebrity voice to be rolled out in India.
“Working with Amazon to introduce my voice on Alexa was a new experience in bringing together the magic of voice technology and artistic creativity. I am excited that my well-wishers can now interact with me via this new medium, and looking forward to hear how they feel about this,” says Mr. Bachchan.
This is programmed to work with specific phrases and answer specific questions – mostly alarms and timers, jokes, and weather reports. This is currently been rolled out at an introductory price of ₹149 (annually; $2) for the first year. However, later on, it would cost $4. And if the chosen celebrity voice is not supported by an Echo device, the native Alexa voice will respond.
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You can change the voice of Alexa on your Echo devices in two ways:
Through the device itself or through the Alexa app. Changing the voice through the device was less reliable for us – the best way is to use the app. It applies only to the Echo device you’re currently using; if you want to change the voice on multiple Echo speakers or displays in your home, each must be changed individually.
The Alexa voice used by the smartphone app itself cannot be changed either; that remains the original, feminine voice. Hopefully, Amazon will offer the option to change it globally for all Echo devices on an account in the future.
Now without further ado, let’s see how it’s done:
How to change Alexa’s voice
On an Echo or Echo Show:
- Use the “Alexa, change your voice” command.
- When 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.
- Alexa will respond with the new voice and confirm that is how it will sound going forward if it is successful.
- If it doesn’t work, Alexa will say, “Sorry, [name of your device] doesn’t support that.”
In the Alexa app for iOS or Android:
- At the bottom, tap on the Devices tab.
- On the left, click Echo & Alexa.
- Select the device you want Alexa to use.
- In the upper right corner, tap the Settings cog wheel.
- Scroll down to Alexa’s Voice and tap it.
- Choose Original (female voice) or New (male voice).
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And…
How to use a celebrity voice like Big B’s
- Say “Alexa introduce me to [name of celebrity].”
- Alexa will switch to the celebrity voice you selected and explain what it can do. Upon purchasing the voice, you will be asked to confirm the charge to your Amazon account.
- You can wake the Echo device by saying “Hey [celeb name]”. You can also enable the voice on each Echo you want to use. If you use the Alexa wake word, you can still use the standard Alexa voice.
It sure took some time for Amazon to introduce the male and celebrity voice options in India, but the choice is still good to have, late or not.
