Now you can ask Alexa to slow down if she’s responding to you too quickly.
Wednesday Amazon launched a new feature for the smart assistant that allows you to ask her to slow down or speed up while she’s responding to you. Overall there are seven different speeds you can choose from; two of them are slower than Alexa’s default speed and four are faster.
To change the speed Alexa speaks, just say “Alexa, speak slower” or “Alexa, speak faster.” If you end up not liking what you’ve selected you also have the option to say “Alexa, speak at your default rate.”
The speed you select with remain your default until you change it.
In a blog post announcing the feature, Amazon says that it’s heard from a number of customers that those hard of hearing and older customers would appreciate it if Alexa could slow down so they could better understand her answers. On the other side of the equation, some blind and low-vision customers are used to processing information more quickly and wanted Alexa to speak a little faster.
When you’re getting a large amount of information from Alexa, having the ability to change her speed certainly might come in handy. A slower speed can give you time to take notes, while a faster speed might allow you to plow through a lot of content—your daily schedule, for instance—a bit quicker.
The ability to change Alexa’s speaking speed is available now for all Alexa users and devices.