Amazon’s Alexa can now recognize different voices and give personalized responses

It seems like there’s a battle of smart speakers low-key going on between Amazon and Google. Back in April, Google Home gained the ability to recognize individual voices, which allows the device to personalize its response for everyone in your house or apartment. This way, you’ll get your calendar briefing or curated music playlists when asking Assistant for them, and Google won’t mix up contacts when you call someone with the Home speaker. Today, Amazon announced that Alexa can now do the same thing.

You can set up voice recognition using the Echo, Echo Dot, or Echo Show. Users are asked to read aloud 10 phrases, and Alexa will then use that data to create a voice profile. After that’s done, voice profiles work across other Echo devices and “most” third-party party Alexa-enabled devices.

“Once you set up the feature, Alexa will learn your voice (versus your spouse/partner/roommate’s voice) and be able to deliver a more personalized experience,” a company spokesperson told The Verge. “Today the feature is available for calling/messaging, flash briefing, shopping, and the Amazon Music Unlimited Family Plan, and it’ll be rolling out to additional Alexa features in the future.” Amazon says voice recognition will get “smarter over time” the more it’s used. The company also notes that touch-to-talk devices (i.e. Fire TV remote and the Amazon Tap) do not support voice profiles.