‘Hey’ Used To Be For Horses
They say it’s the little things. And sometimes it is. One such little thing strikes me as a big difference between the Amazon Echo, the Google Home, the Apple HomePod, and even Microsoft’s Cortana. The use of the word ‘hey’.
Save for the Echo, each of these assistants is invoked by speaking the words “hey _____.” “Hey Google.” “Hey Siri.” “Hey Cortana.” With Amazon’s device, it’s simply “Alexa.”
Again, this seems like a tiny thing. It’s one syllable. But I think it matters.
I live in a house with both the Echo and the Home. And I’m always testing out Siri to see what she can and cannot do in relation to the competition. It’s just so much nicer to invoke Alexa than the others. And I’m certain a part of it is not having to add that extra wake word.
It also happens to be an awful word. Hey. Every time I hear it, I think back to growing up when my parents would make the dreadful parenting joke — which was really more of a reprimand. “‘Hey’ is for horses.” These days, we’re not only letting our children say “hey”, we’re basically forcing them to.
So I welcome the news that Microsoft is apparently doing away with “hey” for Cortana. And I hope Apple and Google follow suit. Sure, it may lead to a few more cases of accidental invoking, but I think the upside will be worth it.
Eventually, I imagine all of these devices are going to let you choose your own wake word. Yes, you can already change it on the Echo, but I mean picking something totally random personalized to you or your family.¹
I’ve written before about how Amazon is owning this market despite not being first and despite seemingly not even having the best technology.² They just seem to get these little things right. At first, I thought it was silly and confusing to name the device, the Echo, differently than the assistant, Alexa. Now this seems like a masterstroke, as you can actually talk about the product without invoking it.³ And without having to insert a superfluously rude ‘hey’.
The only thing worse: trying to actually say “OK Google” without warming up with some tongue gymnastics first.
¹ Which would be great if you, say, have a child named Alexa. Or Siri. Or even Cortana — Halo, the game, is almost 17 years old now…
² I’ve yet to talk to any developers — and I’ve spoken with many — that don’t think Google’s actual technology in the space is the best. It’s just that Amazon’s implementation of their technology is so much better for now.
³ For Amazon’s next trick: being able to issue follow-up commands without having to continually say “Alexa”…
