It is not exactly clear why Amazon has decided to discontinue this feature.
Amazon has confirmed to discontinue the celebrity voice feature on its virtual assistant Alexa, according to a report in ledge, As a result, Customers will no longer be able to purchase or access the voices of well-known actors including Amitabh Bachchan, Samuel L. Jackson, Melissa McCarthy and US former professional basketball player Shaquille O’Neal.
in a note on product page For available celebrity voices, Amazon indicates that they are no longer available for purchase.
An Amazon spokesperson said, “After three years, we are discontinuing Celebrity Voices.” ledge, “Customers will be able to continue to use these voices for a limited time, and may contact our customer service team for a refund.”
A note on Amitabh Bachchan’s page reads, ”This skill is no longer available for purchase. Customers who previously purchased this experience will have access for one year from the date of purchase.”
Those who have already purchased either Ms. McCarthy’s or Mr. O’Neill’s voices will be able to use them until September 30. Meanwhile, Mr. Jackson’s voice will be available until June 7, 2023.
The feature, launched in 2019, allowed users to set their favorite celebrity’s voice as Alexa’s voice. It used Amazon’s neural text-to-speech model, which employs machine learning and aimed to sound more lifelike. In 2020, the feature arrived in India and Mr. Bachchan became the first celebrity voice for Alexa in the country.
Amazon announced in 2020, “The baritone that has enthralled the Indian film industry for more than five decades will soon provide a unique voice experience to the many Indian customers who use Alexa.”
It is not exactly clear why Amazon has decided to discontinue this feature.
