At the beginning of February, Amazon officially launched Alexa+, the company’s new AI-powered assistant. Alexa+ is like the old Alexa, but with new contextual abilities. Users can ask complex, multipart questions, as well as requests for tasks, like asking Alexa to book you concert tickets. If you’ve used a voice mode on chatbots like ChatGPT or Gemini, you’re familiar with the concept—it’s just now available on your Echo devices, too. Now, Amazon is letting you lightly customize the personality of your new AI assistant, offering the choice between concise, calm, and enthusiastic bots.
On Wednesday, Amazon announced “Alexa+ personality styles,” a new feature that lets you customize how Alexa responds to queries and requests. At launch, Amazon is rolling out three styles for this experience: “Brief,” “Chill,” and “Sweet.” According to Amazon, Brief is the choice for users who want shorter responses that are more direct and to the point. There should be less flowery language that chatbots are known for, including small talk and “extra conversation.” Chill, on the other hand, aims to be an “easygoing and “relaxed” personality, that emulates “chatting with a laid-back friend.” Amazon says users who add the Chill personality to Alexa+ will notice conversations are “breezy,” and Alexa+ should offer “gentle guidance” with requests. Sweet is your “biggest cheerleader”: Amazon says this bot responds with warmth and enthusiasm, celebrating your successes, encouraging you, and transforming “everyday moments into opportunities for positivity.” (I just wanted to know the weather, Alexa.)
You can hear a sample of each personality on Amazon’s official announcement page, or use the embeds below. Amazon has uploaded Soundcloud links with a brief for each, so you can get a sense of the voice and style of all three. First, there’s Brief, which just says, “Operating efficiently”:
Next, is Chill, which says, “Life’s treating me well. All systems are zen, and the digital universe is spinning in harmony”:
Finally, there’s Sweet, which says, “Absolutely fantastic. I’m radiating pure joy, and ready to make your day incredibly amazing”:
Amazon says each of these voices was created following five pillars: Expressiveness, which can be concise to verbose; Emotional Openness, which can be reserved to enthusiastic; Formality, which can be professional to casual; Directness, which can be diplomatic to blunt; and Humor, which can range from subtle wit to overt sarcasm. Each pillar has its own ranges, which informs each personality. For example, Amazon says that Brief is specifically concise, casual, and direct, with minimal humor, while Sweet is warm, emotionally expressive, casual, and encouraging.
What do you think so far?
Despite the audio samples above, Amazon won’t force you to stick with these default voices, either. You can choose a new personality style while, at the same time, swapping between the eight different voice options Amazon offers.
How to try Amazon’s new personality styles with Alexa
Anyone with access to Alexa+—either through the Alexa+ subscription or a Prime subscription—can try these changes. Amazon says it made the process for trying new personality styles quite easy: You can just say “Alexa, change your personality style.” Alternatively, you can also find the options in the Alexa app. Select the device in question, then head to Device Settings > Alexa’s Personality Style.
To change the voice of your chosen style, head to your device’s settings again in the Alexa app, then, under “General,” choose your voice.
