Amazon’s digital assistant, Alexa, will soon cease to entertain users with the voices of Samuel L. Jackson, Melissa McCarthy, and Shaquille O’Neal, according to a report by Variety. The tech giant has decided to discontinue the sale of these special Alexa celebrity-voice add-on packs, which have been providing weather updates, telling jokes, and delivering other responses to users of Alexa-enabled devices.
As per Amazon’s website, these celebrity voice “personalities” are no longer available for purchase. These voice packs, previously sold for $4.99 each, will continue to function for a limited period for those who have already purchased them. The Alexa voices for McCarthy and O’Neal are set to expire on September 30, 2023, while the Jackson voice add-on for Alexa will be deactivated on June 7.
“Following a three-year run, we’re winding down celebrity voices,” an Amazon spokesperson stated. Customers who wish to request a refund can contact Amazon’s customer service team.
The voice pack for Samuel L. Jackson, introduced in 2019 and known for his explicit dialogue, allowed Alexa users to choose whether to use explicit language or not. The voice packs for McCarthy and O’Neal were launched in 2021, following the popularity of the Jackson voice. Each of them had to record dozens of hours of speech to train the AI-based system that generated their Alexa voices.
This decision to phase out the Alexa celebrity voices comes as Amazon has been focusing on cost-cutting measures over the past six months. This larger initiative, including layoffs of approximately 27,000 corporate employees since November, may have influenced the decision to sunset the Alexa celebrity voices.
Despite the departure of the celebrity voices, Alexa users can still select from various voice options, including U.S., Australian, British, Canadian, and Indian voices. Users can change Alexa’s voice by saying, “Alexa, change your voice,” or by selecting Alexa’s voice in the device settings in the Alexa app.
Featured Image Credit: Photo / illustration by “Andres Urena” via Unsplash
