Whisper mode comes to Amazon Alexa, here's how to activate it



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In short: Amazon had teased that Whisper Mode was coming to Alexa, and now he's finally here. It's basically a way for Alexa to talk to you more gently and to hear you as you whisper. The mode is good to use while others are sleeping at home and you do not want to wake them up but you have to use Alexa to turn off the lights, or arm your alarm system or something. Now, you can whisper to Alexa and she will be able to hear. This is due to the many microphones included in the speakers compatible with Alexa. Amazon has actually previewed this feature as long as last year. It is at this point that Amazon has opened its Speech Synthesis markup language for developers. Amazon said that Alexa "would automatically learn the functions of audio signals useful for detecting sound events or whispered words". Whisper mode uses automatic learning. recognize your voice over time. But the real question is how to turn it on. Let us explain.

How to enable Whisper Mode with the help of Amazon Echo

It's easy to turn on whisper mode using your voice on Amazon Echo. Just say "Alexa, activate whisper mode". Subsequently, Whisper mode will be activated and you will be able to talk to Alexa about your discreet inner voice. Currently, Whisper mode only seems to work on Echo devices. We tried to whisper to third-party speakers who have Alexa integrated (like the Harman Kardon Allure), but Alexa does not whisper back.

How to enable Whisper Mode with the help of the Alexa App

It takes a few more steps to activate Whisper mode using the Alexa app – and most people will probably activate it with their voice. First of all, you will want to access the Alexa application and access Settings.

From there, you will want to type in your Alexa account, which will be the first option in the settings. This will give you options for your Alexa account in general.

After that, you'll tap Alexa Voice Responses. As you can see in the picture above, it should be the third option, just below the "Buy Voice" option.

Now, just switch to the "Murmured Answers" option. The parameter also explains what the Whispered Responses really are. Alexa will whisper to you when you whisper to Alexa, but this also applies only to devices set in English (United States). So it's not quite American but close enough. You can choose to enable or disable this option at any time. But remember, if you do not whisper to Alexa, she does not whisper. Whispering to Alexa is what triggers the whisper mode.

Context: Amazon showed for the first time last year Whisper Mode or Whisper Responses, but it was announced that next month would arrive for Alexa. Now, it's finally here. It was a much-needed feature for Amazon Alexa (and Google Assistant, although Google does not have it yet). There is a fairly simple reason why users have asked for this feature, because sometimes you ask Alexa something – like weather or waking – and then she responds much louder (which leads you to wonder when you turn the volume increases so loud). Now, with the whisper mode, this is no longer a problem, it will answer at a very low volume, and it seems a little scary. But it's okay as long as it's not so strong.

It's pretty amazing that Amazon can do things like this with Amazon Alexa, since she can still hear you, even on the other side of the room, while you whisper. Of course, the eight microphones included in most of the latest Amazon Alexa smart speakers are an essential part. It is therefore useful to have these additional microphones. Compared to Google Home which has only two microphones, and when we decide to die, it is harder to get the Assistant's attention. Fortunately, this is not a problem with Amazon Alexa. It will probably not be long before Google sets up its own silent or silent mode for Google Assistant, as Amazon has already done. And both usually deploy features that are very close to each other. Google could perhaps do better, knowing that he's been working for a longer time on artificial intelligence and machine learning, making it an even more expansive experience.

Impact: Amazon Alexa is currently leading personal assistants, at least according to most people. While Google answers questions better, because of the knowledge graph and the power of Google search, Alexa is better for most other tasks. This includes the control of smart home products, as well as the addition of new features to make Alexa more useful. Of course, this is largely due to Alexa's skills and Amazon's close collaboration with developers. Amazon Alexa still has more features than most other personal assistants, and this is certainly not a surprise. Now, with Whisper Mode here, it will really go from the front.

The Whisper mode will probably be used by parents or those who have a lot of people living at home. Imagine asking Alexa something just to hear her shout out the answer and wake up your newborn baby. Definitely the last thing you want. Although Alexa's whisper can still wake up some people, since it's not quite silent, is it much quieter than non whispering alexa? It's unfortunate that it's only available in American English for the moment, but that's because Alexa needs to learn voice signals for other languages ​​when people first whisper. This is not an easy function to deploy, especially for multiple languages. But we know that Alexa works there, which is important.

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