Amazon has announced its decision to retire the celebrity voices feature for Alexa, a service that has been delivering weather forecasts, telling jokes, and much more.
The voiceover services of Hollywood actor Samuel L. Jackson, fellow actor Melissa McCarthy, and NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal are set to be discontinued as per the recent updates on Amazon’s pages for each of these celebrities.
“Samuel L. Jackson’s celebrity personality for Alexa is no longer available for purchase,” reads the notice for the “Pulp Fiction” actor on Amazon’s site. The notification continues, “Customers who previously purchased the experience may continue to use the skill until April 30, 2023, by saying ‘Hey Samuel.’ Please reach out to customer service if you have any questions about this update.”
The voiceover experience provided by Jackson was first made available in December 2019 at an introductory price of 99 cents, which was only for a limited time. Following the promotional period, the price jumped to $4.99.
In a statement provided to GeekWire on Tuesday, an Amazon spokesperson said, “After three years, we’re winding down celebrity voices.” The spokesperson further noted that customers would be able to continue using these voices for a limited time and those seeking refunds could contact the customer service team.
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Amazon had utilized its Neural Text-to-Speech (TTS) technology to generate the voiceover experience. This technology allowed for a unique twist with Jackson’s voice, providing an explicit version sprinkled with occasional F-bombs amid the jokes and movie trivia. It’s important to note, however, that the voices did not extend to functionalities such as shopping lists, reminders, or skills.
Tech news outlet The Verge reported on Tuesday that Jackson’s voice feature had already ceased functioning on some customers’ Alexa-enabled smart speakers. Amazon stated that it began informing customers about this impending change as early as December. According to the timeline provided by Amazon, Jackson’s voice feature will remain active until June 7.
The voices of McCarthy and O’Neal, which were introduced to the platform in 2021, will also be phased out. Their voiceover pages indicate that their services will continue to function until September 30.
Despite the exit of these high-profile voices, Amazon continues to offer customers a diverse range of voice options. Users can select from American, Australian, British, Canadian, and Indian voices. Changing Alexa’s voice can be done by saying, “Alexa, change your voice,” or manually in the Alexa app by navigating to device settings and selecting Alexa’s voice.
This decision to discontinue the celebrity voiceover feature marks an interesting turn in Amazon’s strategy with Alexa. When the company initially launched the celebrity voices feature, it created quite a buzz and attracted users who found the idea of their favorite celebrities guiding them through their daily tasks appealing. However, as the novelty wore off and practicality took center stage, users realized that the celebrity voices had limitations, as they were not integrated with all of Alexa’s functionalities.
As Amazon continues to evolve its strategies and offerings, only time will tell what the tech giant has in store for the future of Alexa. For now, Alexa users will bid farewell to the familiar celebrity voices and anticipate the next wave of innovations from the company. While the end of an era is always tinged with a bit of nostalgia, in the ever-evolving world of technology, it is also the beginning of something new.
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