It's hard to believe, but the first Amazon Echo device hit the market less than three years ago. The voice-controllable personal assistant that powers the experience, Alexa continues to learn and gain more and more features.
Currently, there are more than 20,000 different skills that users can take advantage of:everything from the incredibly useful to the not-so-clever, Let's face it:Amazon Echo's Alexa is stupid Let's face it:Amazon Echo's Alexa is stupid There's no question , voice Controlled assistants are the future, but is Alexa the solution? Maybe not. In this article, I am going to argue that Alexa is pretty stupid. Read more.
And as the Echo line continues to become more powerful and popular, many users find that more than one person in their household wants to take full advantage of all the different services and abilities.
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Fortunately, Amazon offers two great ways to fully customize the experience for multiple users. Let's take a closer look at Alexa Voice Profiles and Home Profiles and see how they can personalize daily interactions with Alexa for everyone in your home.
A new option to personalize each Echo in your home is Alexa Profile Profiles. As you probably know from its name, each voice profile allows Alexa to learn your individual voice and then provide a more personalized experience.
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To create your first voice profile, open the app and select Settings from the side menu. Scroll down to Your voice start. Most importantly, select the device you will use during training.
During the session, you will speak 10 different phrases to Alexa. press Next to cycle through each sentence. Amazon recommends muting any other voice devices and talking to Alexa from a normal distance in a quiet place.
After reading all 10 sentences, the voice profile will take 15-20 minutes to complete. Just ask “Alexa, who am I?” To see if the process is complete. The wizard will say who you are and which Amazon account is active.
If for any reason you want to delete your voice profile, which is stored in the cloud, scroll to the bottom of the Your voice menu and select Forget voice . That's a good option to try if you're having trouble with Alexa recognizing your specific voice.
When you're ready to add an additional profile to your Alexa device, there are a few other ways to proceed.
The other person can download the companion app on their device and sign in with the Amazon account linked to the Alexa device. You can also use your smartphone by simply logging out of the app by going to Settings part of the menu, and log back in with your account email and password.
They will have to select I am someone else and then enter the name you would like to be known by. Then go to the same Settings> Your Voice and go through the training process.
Anyone with a home profile, which we'll cover in a moment, can also add their voice profile to the home. Amazon says that with time and use, the Echo's voice recognition capabilities will get smarter.
Voice profiles will be useful in a number of situations to provide individual results when interacting with Alexa.
First, you'll use Alexa calling and messaging. How to Use Amazon Echo Voice Calling and Messaging in 3 Easy Steps How to Use Amazon Echo Voice Calling and Messaging in 3 Easy Steps Your Amazon Echo device and Alexa have been busy learning some new tricks. Long-requested voice calls and messages add another layer of utility to the popular voice-activated speakerphone. Read easier. When voice profiles are active, there is no need to specify which messages Alexa should play and it will send a message to the correct person. Just say “Alexa, play my messages,” “Alexa, send a message,” or “Alexa, call mom” and it will recognize which person is making the request. So, for example, Alexa will call your mother instead of your mother-in-law.
Also, when you make a voice call to another Alexa device, or someone using the Alexa app, your name will be provided as the caller.
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Once a voice profile is set up, you will need to select your specific account on the service. It will then provide you with personalized music upon request. “Alexa, play music” or “Alexa, play a station.”
When you request a news summary, you will hear the specific news report that you have already customized. Alexa will also make sure to skip over any stories you've already heard.
Finally, when shopping 4 Big Problems with Alexa Voice Shopping and How to Fix Them 4 Big Problems with Alexa Voice Shopping and How to Fix Them Amazon Echo devices can order your products with just your voice. Here are some big risks and potential issues you should be aware of before jumping into this feature. Learn more:Since Alexa can recognize your specific voice, you no longer need to provide a voice confirmation code to confirm a purchase. So there's no need to worry about anyone else making a purchase without your consent.
Another way to customize your Echo devices to handle multiple users is with household profiles. That allows you to add another adult, with their own Amazon account, to access your Echo.
You can listen to any of your users' music, manage account features, share specific content through Family Library, and access your own specific news and traffic information.
To add another person to your household, they need to be present. Using the companion app, go to the side menu and then Settings> Accounts> Household Profile . Follow the on-screen instructions and the other person will need to enter their account information, including a password, to complete the process.
When you add another adult to your household, they can use credit cards linked to your Amazon account to make purchases on the site.
After adding another person, just say “Alexa, switch accounts” to switch users. To verify the current account, just say “Alexa, what account is this?”
If you ever need to remove someone from your household, go to the side menu and then choose Settings> Accounts> in an Amazon household with [name] . Hit remove next to the user. If you are removing yourself, press Exit .
Once a user is removed, they cannot be added to another household for 180 days.
As you can see, Alexa Voice Profiles and Home Profiles are great tools to help bring the same powerful Alexa experience to everyone in your home. Amazon is really making its Echo line a multi-user computer and continuing to combine other features found on competing smart speakers, like Google Home How to set up and use your Google Home How to set up and use your google home page ? Here's a step-by-step guide to everything you need to know to get it set up and working perfectly. Read more.
Have you used voice profiles or home profiles to personalize your Alexa experience on an Echo device? Let us know how your experience went in the comments!
