The progress of technology has been exponential, giving rise to innovative features, such as voice assistants.
Amazon’s voice AI is Alexa, but as impressive as she is, she can still mistake your voice for someone else’s. So, what should you do?
When Alexa thinks your voice is someone else’s, you can set up your voice profile to help improve her recognition. You may also delete the profile associated with your voice and recreate another. A well-matched profile is crucial for Alexa to recognize your voice.
This article will explain why Alexa can get confused over people’s voices, how to help her discern among voices better, and why a well-matched voice profile is essential.
It’s crucial in Alexa’s ability to distinguish among different people’s voices.
Why Would Alexa Mistake Your Voice for Someone Else’s?
A few years ago, Alexa gained the ability to differentiate between different voices.
This allows for a more personalized experience with the voice assistant, such as curated news or calendar updates. However, many experienced having Alexa confusing their voice for someone else’s.
Alexa would often mistake your voice for someone else’s if it were stored or associated with another Amazon account or profile.
A voice profile must be made under the proper account to be associated with the correct person. Following the steps for making such a profile is crucial.
Alexa can recognize voices between different users.
However, such ability also relies on how well the voice profiles match.
For instance, if you accidentally allowed Alexa to learn your voice while logged in to your partner’s account, she may associate your voice with your partner’s name or account instead.
What Should You Do To Help Alexa Recognize Voices?
All things are not in vain when Alexa thinks you’re your mom when you speak to her.
There are steps you can follow to help enhance her recognition and discernment of voices.
To help Alexa recognize voices, you should delete the voice profiles already created and remake them.
This will allow Alexa to associate your voice, and other household members’ voices with the respective accounts. You can also help Alexa match voice profiles with the voices.
Below, I’ll go more in-depth on the various steps you can take to help Alexa recognize voices.
Delete the Voice Profile Associated With Your Voice
If your voice was somehow stored as a voice profile associated with your parent, partner, or other household members, you can delete that and recreate a new one. To do so, follow these steps:
- Open your Alexa app and locate settings.
- Look for “Your Profile.”
- Choose the “Voice ID” option.
- Select “Delete Voice ID.”
Create Your Alexa Voice Profile
If you have yet to make your voice profile, or you just deleted it, you can easily create a new one. To do so, follow these steps:
- Open the Alexa app.
- Go to settings.
- Select “Your Profile and Family.”
- Click on “Your Profile.”
- Select “Add Your Voice.”
After this, Alexa will ask you to read phrases for her to learn your voice.
When your profile has been made, enable the voice recognition feature.
This allows Alexa to discern your voice and personalize interactions automatically.
After setting up your account, you can also double-check Alexa’s ability to recognize you by asking her, “Alexa, who am I?”
If the setup were done right, she would be able to respond with the correct name and profile.
Set Up Separate Alexa Voice Profiles for Other Household Members
Alexa’s confusion over voices often happens with people living in the same household.
They should also make their voice profile using your account to avoid that.
They can use their phone to open the app, access their account, and create a voice profile.
Setting up the profile can also be done using the same mobile device by logging in and out between profiles.
Make sure to select the “I’m Someone Else” option when signing in again.
Additionally, there’s a setting to set up a voice profile for kids under their parents’ accounts.
This feature allows a more child-friendly interaction between Alexa and the children.
Help Alexa Match Voices Better
After everyone has made their voice profiles, you can enhance Alexa’s recognition ability.
Just look for the Recognized Voices tab and select Manage Voice Profile.
Alexa will then read some phrases, and you would have to match them to the right person by clicking the correct name.
Reach Out for Technical Support
If there are still some issues with your and your family’s voice profiles, you can reach out to technical support.
They may be able to address more specific challenges, such as difficulty deleting a voice profile associated with your voice.
Amazon also has a Help & Customer Service page that outlines specific issues and how to resolve them (e.g., Can’t Set Up Alexa Voice ID).
What Are the Benefits of a Well-Matched Alexa Voice Profile?
Going through the steps of making separate voice profiles and matching them with the correct accounts may seem tedious to some.
However, there are many advantages to having Alexa recognize your voice.
A benefit of a well-matched Alexa voice profile or ID is less confusion among voices of household members.
It also allows for more personalized interaction with Alexa. Therefore, updates like news and calendar meetings are customized for you only.
Proper voice matching also helps prevent other users from accessing your account.
Hence, you will have to worry less about a housemate accessing your personal messages or using your online shopping cart.
What To Do When Alexa Thinks Your Voice Is Someone Else’s: Final Thoughts
Artificial intelligence is yet to be perfected, so hiccups like Alexa being unable to recognize your voice or understand what you say may be expected.
However, their performance can be improved if we set them up correctly.
When setting up your voice profile or another household member’s voice ID, make sure that it is associated with the correct account and name.
You can use separate mobile devices to do so, but if you’re using the same phone, make sure to sign out of the previous account to avoid mixing it up.
