Amazon's Alexa adds a male voice after 8 years

Published: 22 Jul 2021 10:06 AM +00:00 Updated: 02 Jun 2022 9:21 AM +00:00

Table of Contents

Amazon Alexa can change to Ziggy
How to change Alexa voice to make Ziggy
Other voice options

It’s been eight years since Amazon first launched their Alexa smart assistant. Since 2013, the ever-memed AI has only had one gender for its default voice: female. Now, fans of the smart assistant will finally be able to change the voice of their smart home with the revolutionary introduction of a male voice option.

Amazon Alexa can change to Ziggy

Reported by The Ambient, Amazon's newest update to Alexa devices has introduced a male voice option. Amazon's assistant was the only commercial AI limited to a single gender; Siri and Google Assistant both have gender options.

The new male voice option also comes with its own name, although you can always default to Alexa. Amazon's male option comes with the new name Ziggy which can be used to wake the smart device and command it.

The new voice option is only currently available in the United States. Much like the default female voice, Ziggy is expected to launch in other regions with regional accents. Check out the video video of the new voice below.

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How to change Alexa voice to make Ziggy

In order to get the new voice on your Amazon smart assistant, you'll only need to have a short conversation with your device. If you're in a compatible region you can simply say, “Alexa, change your voice.”

Furthermore, you can change the voice manually through the app on your phone. In the app, go to the settings menu and then change the voice. It's a remarkably simple process!

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Other voice options

While Ziggy is the first default male voice for the Amazon assistant, it’s not the only male voice. The smart assistant has multiple celebrity voices that are available to use. As of now, the assistant has options for Samuel Jackson, Melissa McCarthy and Shaquille O’Neal.

Through the use of unofficial addons on the Amazon store, you can even give your device other voices. For example, third party addons could give you the voice of Deadpool, Gordon Ramsey and more.

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