Alexa can respond in both its original feminine tone as well as a more masculine-sounding voice. Here\u2019s how to change the voice on your Echo device.<\/b>
\nAlexa\u2019s soothing voice has been echoing through smart homes since 2015, and we\u2019ve become used to the assistant\u2019s feminine tone. While both Google and Apple offer a choice of voices, including a male tone and even some celebrity vocals, for their assistants, Amazon has lagged behind – with just one other choice, Samuel L. Jackson, which was released in 2019. Until recently that is. Amazon recently introduced a masculine voice for its smart speakers and smart display, known as Ziggy, along with the option to have Alexa adopt the voice of Melissa McCarthy or Shaquille O\u2019Neal (although those do come at a cost of $4.99). So whether you\u2019ve got an Amazon Echo Dot (2020) or the Amazon Echo Show 10, you can change how the voice assistant sounds\u2026. if you\u2019re in the US, that is. Like many great Amazon Echo features including being able to make zoom calls on its smart displays, and Alexa Guard, which sees the voice assistant notify your smartphone if it hears an unusual noise in your home, Ziggy and Alexa\u2019s celebrity personalities are not currently available in the UK or Australia. We spoke to Amazon and a representative confirmed that the ability to change Alexa\u2019s voice is restricted to the US at present. Amazon told TechRadar it wasn\u2019t able to reveal if this will change in the future. Fancy grabbing yourself one of Amazon\u2019s smart speakers or smart displays? Check out the best prices on offer right now. There are two ways to change Alexa\u2019s voice on Amazon Echo devices. You can either say \u201cAlexa, change your voice\u201d or you can use the Alexa app. When asking Alexa directly, the voice assistant will ask you to confirm which Echo speaker you want to change the voice on, if you have more than one in the house. Tell Alexa which device you want the voice to change on, and if successful Alexa will respond in the new masculine tone. If using the Alexa app, select the Devices tab from the bottom of the screen followed by Echo & Alexa. From the list of Echo devices displayed, select the speaker on which you want to change Alexa\u2019s voice, and choose the cog in the top right-hand corner to access the settings menu. Scroll down to Alexa\u2019s voice and choose between either Original (the feminine tone) and New, which is Ziggy. You can also change the smart speaker\u2019s wake word to Ziggy if you want your device to fully embrace its new personality. This can also be accessed from the same settings menu, under the section marked Wake Word. If you prefer Alexa can also take on a celebrity\u2019s voice, although as we\u2019ve mentioned this will cost $4.99 per voice. Say \u201cAlexa introduce me to\u2026\u201d followed by the name of one of the three celebrities. Alexa will respond in the celebrity\u2019s voice and give you a rundown of the different things that voice can do, and then ask you to confirm you\u2019re happy for your Amazon account to be charged for the voice. Once you agree, you\u2019ll then be able to say \u201cHey, \u2026\u201d followed by the celebrity\u2019s name to wake up Amazon\u2019s voice assistant. If you accidentally use Alexa, or the other wake words, if you have them selected, the voice assistant will respond in its usual tone.<\/p>\n