Amazon Discontinues Alexa's Celebrity Voices
Alexa, bid farewell to Samuel L. Jackson, Shaquille O'Neal, and Melissa McCarthy.
Amazon is discontinuing celebrity voices on its virtual assistant platform and smart speakers.
The dulcet tones of this unlikely trio are no longer available to purchase, and will disappear entirely later this year—starting with Nick Fury himself.
Samuel Jackson launched Amazon's Celebrity Voice Program in 2019, when the actor's iconic timbre became the top-selling digital purchase online. Users could download the skill for $0.99 to ask Jackson important questions, like what his favorite movie line is or how much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood.
His digital personality appreciated over time, eventually costing $4.99; Shaq and McCarthy arrived in the summer of 2021 for the same price. The one-off fee didn't seem too steep when folks expected to interact with the celebs for years to come, getting to know McCarthy's self-described "nasal midwestern" vocal stylings or listening to former basketball pro O'Neal spin a rap.
"After three years, we're winding down celebrity voices," an Amazon spokesperson told The Verge(Opens in a new window). "Customers will be able to continue using these voices for a limited time, and can contact our customer service team for a refund."
But the tech titan isn't giving users very long to say goodbye: Samuel L. Jackson's Alexa voice(Opens in a new window) will vanish on June 7, while O'Neal(Opens in a new window) and McCarthy(Opens in a new window) are available through Sept. 30.
There's no word on exactly why Amazon is ditching its celebrity voices. Recent reports suggest Amazon plans to rework Alexa to keep up with growing interest in generative AI, and may use its own large language
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