Amazon has rolled out a new Alexa feature named Brief Mode, and it is perfect for Echo owners who want the digital assistant to respond with less words and more beeps.
Alexa is a very useful companion, but some people may think that the digital assistant is a bit too talkative. Amazon apparently thinks that this is an issue worth solving and has rolled out a feature to make Alexa less chatty.
Alexa Brief Mode Makes Amazon Echo Quieter
Users on the Amazon Echo subreddit were the first ones to notice the new Brief Mode for Alexa. In the opening post of a thread, an Echo owner narrated that the digital assistant said it would stop saying "OK" to confirm a voice command and use a beep tone instead.
It was unclear at first if Brief Mode was accidentally made available for some Echo units or if Amazon was already quietly rolling out the feature. It now looks like the latter, as the option has started appearing in the Settings section of the Alexa app. Specifically, the feature is located under the General menu, in Alexa Voice Responses. Users can simply toggle the feature on and off, which is described as making Alexa speak less and plays a short sound instead of a voice response for some simple messages.
Currently, replacing Alexa's "OK" response with a beep is the only function of Brief Mode. However, it is not hard to imagine that Amazon will expand its applications in the future. For example, Alexa may be set to have no response at all, whether an "OK" or a beep, at certain hours of the day. The mode may also someday make Alexa's responses to questions a bit shorter.
New Alexa Features
The Brief Mode for Alexa comes several days after Amazon rolled out the Follow-Up Mode for the digital assistant. While the Brief Mode results in less words coming from Alexa, Follow-Up Mode reduces the words coming from users themselves. This is because once the mode is activated, users can keep issuing voice commands to Alexa without having to say the wake word each time.
Meanwhile, another "feature" for the digital assistant recently started freaking out Amazon Echo owners. Alexa randomly laughs without any voice commands coming from users, which could be downright terrifying in certain situations. Amazon said that it will fix the problem by disabling certain phrases and changing voice commands, but it is unclear if this solution will work.
