Amazon allows Alexa to give less ‘verbal feedback’

Amazon smart speakers will have the ability to talk back less often when the user gives a voice command. With this so-called Brief Mode, speech software Alexa is shorter in substance, and sometimes no verbal feedback is given at all.

Amazon didn’t make a big announcement about the new mode, but users on Reddit found that Brief Mode was recently implemented in the Alexa software. With this Brief Mode, the Echo speakers, which are equipped with speech machine Alexa, get the possibility to respond briefly to commands that the owner gives. And in some cases, the confirmation of a command is no longer given with a verbal response, but with a short sound.

On iOS, Brief Mode appears to have been introduced in version 2.2.202313.0 of the Alexa software. Amazon’s own Echo speakers seem to be automatically provided with the new functionality, but it may take some time before the necessary software is available to everyone. If you have already received the software update, you can turn on Brief Mode in the settings.

Recently, the Alexa speech engine made headlines because users reported a random smile. Amazon said that the Echo speakers sometimes started laughing spontaneously because of a misunderstood command. Amazon has therefore adjusted the command so that it should be activated less often by accident.