GUIDE

Custom Alexa voice: what works on Echo

People ask whether Alexa can talk like Optimus Prime, Morgan Freeman, Jack Skellington or anyone else. The honest answer: Alexa’s own answers come only in Amazon’s voices, and the celebrity voices Amazon once sold were switched off in 2023.

What does work is a small Alexa skill of your own that plays clips you voiced in a character’s voice. This guide shows what Alexa allows and how to get character replies on your Echo.

Try the Optimus Prime voice Movie character voices Install the SuperClonica engine

What Alexa allows

Alexa has its original voice and, in many countries, a masculine voice. Say “Alexa, change your voice” to an Echo, or switch it in the Alexa app under the device’s settings, Alexa’s Voice; the setting is per device. Amazon offers no way to add other voices to Alexa’s normal answers.

What happened to celebrity voices

From 2019 Amazon sold celebrity voice packs, such as Samuel L. Jackson, Melissa McCarthy and Shaquille O’Neal. In 2023 Amazon wound them down and offered refunds. No new celebrity or character voices replaced them.

Character replies with your own skill

An Alexa skill can play your own MP3 files with the SSML audio tag. A skill you build in the Alexa developer console can be tested on the Echo devices registered to your own Amazon account, so it does not have to be published. Our Alexa skill custom voice guide shows Amazon’s exact file rules and how to produce compliant MP3s.

Voice the lines

On the Optimus Prime page, or any other voice page, type a line of 30 to 100 characters, such as “Good morning. Autobots, roll out.”, press Voice it and download it, with no account. For many lines, install the free engine with python -m pip install superclonica-cpu and voice them all from a text file. Jarvis, Darth Vader and other characters work the same way.

Fair use

Character voices in the catalog are fan-made, not the original actors, and are meant for personal and fan use like a skill on your own Echo. A skill you publish for others goes through Amazon’s review and needs voices you have the rights to, such as the free stock voices or your own trained voice.