You Can Now Talk to Shaq and Melissa McCarthy on Your Amazon Alexa Device Customers can simply say 'Hey Melissa' or 'Hey Shaq' to their respective Amazon devices.
By Emily Rella
Opinions expressed by BIZ Experiences contributors are their own.
If you own an Amazon device with Alexa-integrated technology, you know that the elusive voice truly has her own personality.
Whether you're asking for a joke, asking for the weather or just asking a random question, you're sure to get a comical response.
And though the voice doesn't technically belong to any one person in particular, Amazon is hoping to change that with the integration of two new celebrity voices to use in place of Alexa.
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The company announced on Thursday that it will be adding the voices of Oscar-nominated actress Melissa McCarthy and NBA superstar Shaquille O'Neal to its repertoire of voice options on Alexa-powered devices like the Amazon Echo and other smart home devices.
"We're thrilled to add two new celebrity personalities to Alexa and had a great time working with Shaquille O'Neal and Melissa McCarthy on this project," said Toni Reid, vice president of Alexa Experience & Echo Devices, in a statement.
In order to activate the voices, customers can simply say "Hey Melissa" or "Hey Shaq" to their respective Amazon devices to get the weather from or ask questions to the fan-favorite celebs.
This won't be Amazon's first foray into celebrity voice options for its devices — the company added the option to "talk" to Samuel L. Jackson in December 2019.
The new feature voices have begun rolling out in the U.S. and can be downloaded for $4.99 each.
Amazon has been undergoing major shakeups recently, as founder and former CEO Jeff Bezos stepped down from his position on July 5.
The company's stock was up over 19% year over year as of Friday afternoon.
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