American actress, writer, director, producer, and web series creator, Issa Rae has been revealed as Google Assistant’s second celebrity voice. John Legend was the first celebrity voice chosen by Google for this initiative.
Henceforth Issa Rae’s voice is available as a cameo on the Google Assistant, in English for a limited time in the U.S. So unfortunately her voice is not available outside U.S.
To switch to Issa’s voice, simply say “Hey Google, talk like Issa,” or go to your “Assistant voice” in Assistant Settings. You’ll then hear Issa’s voice when you ask the Assistant for things like the weather forecast or for answers to questions like, “When is the first day of winter?” You’ll also hear Issa’s voice when you’re in the mood for a joke or when you’re seeking motivation.
As this is a cameo appearance, Issa hasn’t recorded responses for every single question. Some of the questions you can ask her, include the following: “Hey Google…”
- “Do I need an umbrella today?”
- “Tell me a secret.”
- “What do you think of me?”
- “Give me a quote from Issa Rae.”
- “Sing a song.”
- “Tell me a joke.”
- Or ask, “Mirror talk” or “How do I look?” for confidence-boosting affirmations.
This initiative has been made possible by the state-of-the-art speech synthesis model, WaveNet. You can get Issa’s cameo voice on any device that has the Google Assistant, including Google Home smart speakers and all Smart Displays—including the new Nest Hub Max—and on mobile for Android and iOS.
