Google Assistant has a female voice, by default. You can change it.
To be fair: Most tech companies give their monolithic voice-activated digital assistants female voices at launch, rather than male ones. And while that makes it seem like they are actively conforming to social expectations (people are conditioned to expect women, not men, in administrative roles), some in Silicon Valley have begun expanding their assistants to reflect diversity in the real world.
Apple's Siri, for instance, has matured and currently offers different accents, languages, and even a male voice. And, now, Google Assistant offers a male voice, too. While announcing its latest Google Home speakers, Google didn't directly mention the change, but it's true, and you can enable this hidden male voice right now. All you have to do is dive into the settings on your phone Assistant or Google Home.
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What is Google Assistant?
Google Assistant is Google's version of a digital assistant. It can be found on many Android phones, Android TV set-top boxes, Google's own smart speakers, and other devices. Go here to learn more about Google Assistant, how it works, and where you can find it.
How to enable Assistant's male voice
As discovered by Android Police, Google Assistant now has a male voice that's called "Voice II." So, if you are sick of the assistant's original female voice, you can change it a male voice. The feature is limited to US English as the system language, however. But we suspect Google will one day add additional dialects and languages for other markets sometime in the future, just as Apple did with Siri.
Continue reading for step-by-step instructions on how to get the male voice. It appears as though it is not yet live for everyone, but it should reach more people in the weeks to come. You might need to make sure your Google and Google Home apps are up to date.
- Open the Google Assistant app
- Tap on the menu button (three-dot icon)
- Open Settings
- Select Preferences
- Select Assistant Voice
- Switch from Voice I (female) to Voice II (male)
The male voice is available for Assistant on Google Home and on phones, so you can also open the Google Home app to make the switch (again, it's under Preferences > Assistant Voice). The change carries over to all your devices so that they'll have the same voice.
What does the male voice sound like?
You can hear the male voice in Android Police's video below: