How do I change my voice access?
What is voice access?
Voice access refers to technology that allows users to operate devices hands-free through voice commands and responses. Instead of physically interacting with screens, buttons or other controls, users can control functions and request information simply by speaking.
Some of the most common examples of voice access technology are virtual assistants like Apple’s Siri, Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, and Microsoft Cortana. These voice assistants allow you to do things like set alarms, play music, get directions, adjust smart home devices, and more using just your voice.
Smartphone operating systems like iOS and Android have built-in voice access functionality. For example, you can say “Hey Siri” or “OK Google” to activate the voice assistant without pressing any buttons on your smartphone.
Beyond smartphones, voice access extends to smart speakers and smart home devices, car systems, and other IoT technologies. Voice has become an increasingly common way for people to interact with and control their devices and services hands-free.
Why change voice access settings?
There are several key reasons you may want to customize your voice assistant settings:
To customize your experience – Just like your preferences in music or food, you likely have preferences when it comes to voices and speaking styles. Changing voice access settings allows you to tailor your voice assistant to suit your tastes. For example, you may prefer a certain voice, accent, speed, or tone.
To use your preferred voice – Most voice assistants offer multiple voice options, like male or female voices, as well as accented voices. Switching the voice means you get to interact with the voice assistant you like best. This can make asking questions or giving commands more enjoyable.
To adjust speed or tone – You can fine-tune voice settings like speech rate to speed up or slow down responses. Adjusting tone, pitch, or pronunciation can make interactions smoother and responses easier to understand. Finding the right balance for your preferences can enhance the voice assistant experience.
Overall, customizing voice access provides a more tailored, enjoyable interaction. With the right settings, your voice assistant can feel like an extension of your preferences and style.
Change default voice assistant
The default voice assistant on your device is the one that activates when you say a hotword or activate voice commands. For many Android devices, this is Google Assistant, while on iOS devices it is Siri. However, most smartphones allow you to change the default to a different assistant like Alexa, Bixby, or another option.
To change your default voice assistant on an Android device, open your device’s Settings app and search for “Default apps.” Tap on “Assist & voice input” and you will see options for your default voice assistant app. Select the app you want to use as your new default.
On an iPhone or iPad, Siri is the default assistant and cannot be changed. However, you can download the apps for other assistants like Alexa and access them separately from Siri.
According to Samsung’s support page, you can set Google or Alexa as your default assistant on a Galaxy device in addition to Bixby by going to Settings and searching for “Default apps.”
Change language/accent
Switching the language and accent of your voice assistant can be helpful for multilingual households or for improving understanding. Google Assistant supports over 30 languages, allowing you to set the default language in your Assistant settings. This changes the language for Assistant interactions, alerts, and responses.
You can also adjust the accent of your Assistant’s voice. For example, you can change the English voice to use an American, Australian, British, or Indian accent. This may make your Assistant easier to understand if you are used to a particular accent.
To change your Google Assistant’s language and accent on an Android device, open the Google app and go to Settings > Assistant > Languages. On an iOS device, go to the Assistant settings in the Google Assistant app. Select your preferred language, then choose an accent for that language. The new settings will take effect immediately.
Adjusting these voice settings to suit your needs can provide a more natural interaction with your Google Assistant.
Adjust speech rate
You can adjust the speech rate of your voice assistant to speed it up or slow it down. This allows you to customize the pace at which your voice assistant speaks to improve comprehension.
On Android devices, you can adjust the Text-to-Speech speed setting in your Accessibility settings. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Text-to-Speech output and drag the “Speech rate” slider left to slow down the speech rate or right to speed it up.[1]
On iPhones, you can adjust the speaking rate of VoiceOver in your Accessibility settings. Go to Settings > Accessibility > VoiceOver and drag the “Speaking Rate” slider left or right. Dragging left slows down the speech rate while dragging right speeds it up.[2]
Slowing down the speech rate can help improve comprehension for some users. Faster speech rates may be preferred by more advanced users who want to consume information more rapidly.
Change pronunciation
One of the most common reasons to adjust voice access settings is to fix mispronounced words. Google Assistant uses machine learning to try to pronounce names and words correctly, but it doesn’t always get them right, especially for uncommon or foreign names.
To teach Assistant the proper pronunciation of a name or word, open the Assistant settings and go to the “Your people” section. Find the name that is mispronounced and tap “Edit.” Then tap “Record your own” to have Assistant listen to you say the name, or select “Spell it out” to enter the phonetic spelling.
This will store the proper pronunciation and allow Assistant to say the name correctly going forward 1. You can also have it re-listen to the original recording of your own voice to pick up the pronunciation. Over time and with correction, Google Assistant’s pronunciation abilities will improve.
Use alternate voices
Google Assistant offers a variety of voice options beyond the default voice. You can select different voices to add fun or variety to your Assistant interactions. Some examples of alternate voice options include:
Celebrity voices – Google has partnered with celebrities like John Legend, Issa Rae, and James Earl Jones to provide their voices for the Assistant. To change to a celebrity voice, open the Assistant Settings in the Google Home app, tap “Assistant voice,” and select the celebrity voice you want.
Color voices – Google has introduced voice options named after colors, like Red, Orange, and Yellow. These provide more variety than just the default voice. Go to Assistant Settings to browse and select a color voice.
Accented voices – Along with US English, Google offers Assistant voices with accents like British, Australian, and Indian English. Change your accent in Assistant Settings to make interactions feel more natural.
Fun voices – For a silly twist, try out the Fred or Zari voices. Kids may also enjoy the youthful, high-pitched Ivy voice.
Experimenting with alternate voices can make talking with the Google Assistant more entertaining. It’s an easy way to customize your experience.
[1]
Enable/disable brief mode
Brief mode allows you to toggle on shorter, more concise responses from your voice assistant. This can be useful if you find the full voice confirmations repetitive or lengthy. To enable brief mode:
On an Amazon Alexa device, open the Alexa app, go to Settings > Voice Responses and toggle on Brief Mode. You can also adjust the verbosity of responses on this screen. [1]
On a Google Assistant device, open the Google Home app, select your device, go to Settings > Notifications > Digital Wellbeing > Brief mode and toggle it on. You can choose between short, medium, and long response lengths. [2]
To disable brief mode, simply toggle the setting off again in your voice assistant’s app.
Mute voice responses
You may want to mute voice responses from your voice assistant to disable voice and use visual responses only. This can help preserve privacy in public places where you don’t want your voice assistant to speak out loud (Source).
To mute voice responses on Google Assistant, open the Google app and tap on your profile picture. Go to Settings > Google Assistant > Assistant voice & sounds. Under Speech output, select Hands-free only. This will mute spoken responses from Google Assistant so it only shows visual responses on your phone screen (Source).
You can also mute Siri’s voice by going to Settings > Siri & Search and toggling off Voice Feedback. For Alexa, go to Settings > Alexa Voice Responses and disable Show Alexa’s Voice Responses (Source).
Reset voice settings
Resetting your voice assistant to its default settings is a simple fix if you are having issues with the voice, speech rate, pronunciation, or other settings. According to Google Support, you can reset your Google Assistant by opening your phone’s Settings app, tapping Apps & notifications, selecting the Google app, and choosing “Reset app preferences.” This will revert any customized settings back to the defaults.
For other voice assistants like Siri or Alexa, you can reset settings in a similar way by going into the respective app’s settings and selecting “Reset” or “Restore default settings.” Resetting removes any personalized tweaks you’ve made and takes the voice assistant back to the basic out-of-the-box configuration. This simple fix can resolve issues caused by incorrectly adjusted settings.