BCC Needs Your Help Choosing a New Voice Assistant!

Results updated 4 Mar 2024

Firstly, many thanks for taking the time to get involved and share your views on who should be the voice for Birmingham’s new voice automation system.  

The survey was open for 2 weeks and we had 813 responses. We asked citizens to listen to 7 options and then complete a short survey to tell us which voice they think works best and why.  

The majority of responses came from Birmingham residents (92.6%) and we had representative responses from all age ranges and ethnic groups.  

The voice that was chosen was Amy, with 39% of respondents saying she was “more relatable and friendly, as well as easy to understand.” Citizens also told us Amy’s voice was clear and the right speed for elderly residents and people with learning disabilities or hearing impairments. Arthur was also popular, coming second with 26% of the votes. 

There were additional comments from people stating that they preferred a voice with no obvious accent and a voice that is not robotic. Some residents (4%) felt that a voice that represented local dialect or a Birmingham accent would be appreciated. 5 citizens (less than 1%) stated that they did not want a voice automated system at all.  

The things that were most important to people were that the voice was clear, understandable, and the right speed and tone.  

“[I want a voice that] sounds considered and is at a slow enough rate and at the right pitch for anyone to understand. I think a ‘non-accent' is easier to understand for the majority of people.” – Citizen of Birmingham 

Suggestions were made by citizens to use the voices of staff (“We have great staff working for BCC, can’t we use their voices?”) or local comedian Barbara Nice.

Residents also highlighted the importance of testing the system: “I hope the tool has sufficient capability to understand different accents and to respond to the very complex range of queries the Council receives – adequate testing will be very important to ensure the initiative doesn't turn citizens off....” 

One suggestion around grammar has already been taken on board and the change applied following this consultation. One resident told us, “The grammar is wrong! 'Please can you tell me how can I help you today?' 'Please can you tell me how I can (not how can I) help you today' is correct as its indirect speech.” As a result, we have changed our opening message to say, “Please tell me in a couple of words how I can help you today.” 

Following this consultation, we will be doing live testing with residents over the next few weeks. If you would like to be involved email customerserviceprogramme@birmingham.gov.uk for more information.