Pick Alexa’s personality: Amazon lets users choose ‘Brief,’ ‘Chill,’ or ‘Sweet’ conversation styles Amazon is letting Alexa+ users customize how the voice assistant communicates, choosing between Brief, Chill, and Sweet personality styles. It’s a first for Alexa. Read More
Alexa+ in the real world: How I’m using Amazon’s new assistant, and where it could still improve Riding my bike Saturday afternoon, I spotted a poster for the upcoming Ballard Makers Market & Bar Hop — the… Read More
WellSaid and Five9 make bots sound more like humans when they take your call Earlier this year, Seattle-based WellSaid Labs helped create an AI disk jockey with a voice that sounds like it’s coming… Read More
How Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant is changing its tone during the pandemic Alexa, do I need a coronavirus test? That’s a query that almost certainly was not in the repertoire for Amazon’s… Read More
Podcast Paging Dr. Alexa: Hospitals call on voice assistants, envisioning ‘massive’ impact on healthcare Voice assistants are coming to the hospital. Last month, Amazon Alexa announced a new skill that made the platform compliant… Read More
This new health bot aims to spur behavioral change by using human-like compassion Tuzag is betting that health bots need a better bedside manner. The startup just launched a chat service that’s part… Read More
Amazon Alexa now does her best ‘newscaster’ impression when reading the headlines Is that you, Walter Cronkite? Amazon unveiled a feature that alters Alexa’s voice to imitate the way broadcast news anchors… Read More
Hotel smart speaker startup Roxy enables custom wake words and enhanced security in new alliance with voice tech company Roxy, a Seattle startup that is led by former Amazon and Microsoft employees and makes a smart speaker focused on… Read More
Worried about fake news? Get ready for the rise of fake humans that sound just like us We have heard the voice of our future AI overlord — and it’s making hair appointments for us. Last week, Google… Read More
Getting to know you: Amazon is widening the repertoire for Alexa AI voice assistant G’day, Alexa: Amazon’s digital voice assistant is getting an Australian accent for its Down Under debut this week, but there’s… Read More
Ex-Amazon and Microsoft employees raise $2.2M for hotel-focused smart speaker Roxy Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify the size of the funding round. Roxy, a Seattle startup that… Read More
Sonos debuts $199 Alexa-powered smart speaker, with Google Assistant coming next year Sonos today showed off the fruits of a partnership with Amazon first announced last year. At an event in New… Read More
