Recently Google announced that Google Assistant would be getting more voices for users to choose from. This means that instead of the default voice, users can choose from at least six other options according to their preference. Now it looks like Amazon is doing something similar to what Google has done, except that they’re taking it a step further.
Amazon has recently announced a new developer preview for Alexa in which developers can choose to use different voices for Alexa skills. This means that depending on the developer’s preference, they can choose to use a different voice from the default Alexa voice to use when users are interacting with their skill.
Now developers can already choose to use different voices by uploading their own audio files, but according to Amazon, the use of their Polly voice is better due to its being more natural-sounding. Plus the fact that this is more of an official method does make it a more elegant solution to what was used previously.
According to Amazon, “This new capability can help you enrich your skill’s experience, making it more engaging for customers. For example, you can give a different voice to each character in adventure stories and games.” So if you do own an Alexa device, don’t be surprised if more of your skills start to sound different in the future.