While Alexa was once simply a woman’s name, it has become widely associated with Amazon, since the tech giant launched a smart assistant with the same name back in 2014.
Not only is the AI-powered system named Alexa, it is also the default ‘wake word’ used to alert Amazon devices that an instruction or question will follow.
This has led to women named Alexa becoming the butt of recurring jokes in which their name is shouted, followed by a command.
Unbeknown to many Alexa users, a sneaky trick lets you change your smart assistant’s name, and even voice.
However, there is a catch – as it stands, you can only choose from a few Amazon-sanctioned alternatives.
Unbeknown to many Alexa users, a sneaky trick lets you change your smart assistant’s name, and even voice. However, there is a catch – as it stands, you can only choose from a few Amazon-sanctioned alternatives.
Changing your smart assistant’s name is simple, and only takes a few minutes.
Simply open the Alexa app on your smartphone, and select the Devices tab.
Go to Echo & Alexa, and choose the device you want to change the name of.
Tap on the Settings icon, before tapping Wake Word.
Finally, select your new name.
At the moment, users can choose from four Alexa alternatives – Computer, Echo, Amazon or Ziggy.
Unfortunately for people with multiple speakers, you can only change Alexa’s name on a speaker-by-speaker basis.
If you’re happy with Alexa’s name, but her voice is starting to bore you, you’ll be happy to hear that you can also change her voice, with choices available for different languages, regional dialects and genders.
To change the voice, again, open the Alexa app and select Devices, then Echo & Alexa, before choosing the device you want to change the voice for.
Tap on Settings, then Alexa’s Voice.
Options include a female voice and male voice, as well as a gender-neutral voice, called Ziggy.
Alternatively, you can opt for celebrity voices for your smart speaker, including former basketball player Shaquille O’Neal and actress Melissa McCarthy.
Users just need to say ‘Hey Shaq’ or ‘Hey Melissa’ to hear a selection of pre-recorded messages – although they don’t offer the same range of responses as the automated voices.