The invention of Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant made our lives so easy with voice-activated search features. While it started just answering simple questions, it’s evolved way past that. Tap or click here for Amazon Echo tips and tricks.
You can order groceries, hear the latest news and even tell April Fools jokes with your Alexa if you are feeling funny. Siri and Google Assistant offer similar handy features.
New options get added every day, and with the use of AI technology, you can do just about anything by asking for it nowadays. If your voice assistant can understand you. If you’ve been having a hard time getting through to your voice assistant, here’s how to get Alexa, Siri and Google Assistant to understand you better.
Don’t yell
You’ve probably seen some funny YouTube videos of people screaming at Alexa or Google Assistant when they don’t get through the first time. While this makes entertaining television and YouTube clips, yelling at any voice assistant will only make it work less accurately.
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For optimal results, you’ll need to talk at a normal volume. Speak to Alexa or Siri like you are talking to a friend.
Make sure the mic isn’t blocked
This is easily done with Siri. You ask Siri a question and she doesn’t answer. Surprise, your thumb is blocking the mic. If your voice assistant can’t hear you, you may be obstructing the mic.
With Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, you need proper clearance. Amazon suggests at least eight inches of space when speaking. So don’t speak directly into the unit.
Don’t speak like a robot
It might be tempting to talk to your voice assistant like you’re William Shatner, but this will also make your voice assistant work less effectively. Speak like a normal person and your voice assistant will respond in turn. These pieces of technology may actually be robots, but they don’t need to be talked to like that.
Create custom profiles
Fun fact: You can train Amazon Alexa to recognize up to six different people that live with you. This can be incredibly handy if you have family members with different accents or children at different levels of language development. It’s an easy process and you can let Alexa slowly adjust to different voices.
Here’s how to set up Alexa profiles:
- Open the Alexa app.
- Tap More and select Settings.
- Select Your Profile.
- Next to Voice, select Create.
- Select Continue.
You can also train Siri to recognize your voice so you have less issues. This is super helpful if you have an accent or talk rather quickly. You can also teach Siri how to pronounce the names of people in your life, so if you have any fantastical names in your family that even you can’t pronounce, you can at least teach Siri to get it right.
- Open Settings on your iPhone.
- Click on Siri & Search.
- Toggle the switch next to Listen for “Hey Siri” off and on.
- Now complete the on-screen setup process to train Siri to recognize your voice.
Google Assistant has a similar feature to Siri and Amazon Alexa. It’s called Voice Match. Using this feature, you can teach Google Assistant how to recognize your commands easier.
- Open the Google Home app.
- Tap your profile picture or initials.
- Head to Assistant settings.
- Choose Voice Match.
- Click Add Devices.
- Follow the directions Google Assistant gives you.
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Respond to follow-ups and train your voice assistant
Often enough, Alexa, Google Assistant or Siri will ask for clarification about something you said. This can be annoying and certainly frustrating, but the best thing for you to do is to respond to their question.
When you respond to clarify what you were asking about in the first place, it trains the AI to do better in the future. Every clarification you make, your AI technology remembers and adapts to, making it less likely for you to have to repeat yourself next time.
AI technology can be super helpful and by learning how to speak to it properly, you’ll avoid any hiccups in the future.