Alexa will talk less if you turn on new Brief Mode

Reddit users over at /r/AmazonEcho discovered something interesting: a new mode for Amazon Echo products called Brief Mode. While Amazon itself hasn’t made any announcements about the feature, Echo users around the globe are reporting their experiences with the new, less-talkative Alexa.

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Currently, when you ask Alexa to perform a command, such as, “Turn on the lights,” a response of affirmation follows the successful completion of the task, usually a simple “OK!” While it’s nice that Alexa wants us to know that the task was completed, it can be a little annoying with something like asking her to turn on the lights; the lights are on, we know it worked, we don’t need to hear from Alexa about it.

With Brief Mode, Alexa doesn’t say anything after the task is completed; instead, the Echo device emits a beep tone. While total silence would be a little more preferable in most scenarios, a beep tone is undoubtedly better than a shrill and loud “OK!”

Once again, Amazon hasn’t made any announcement about the feature, so your mileage may vary when trying to turn it on or off on your Echo equipment. But, according to Reddit users, you can ask Alexa to “Turn on/off Brief Mode” to toggle the feature.

Reports are also coming in that the Alexa app for Android and iOS has the option to toggle the feature. If you’re on the latest version of the app, navigate to Settings > General > Alexa Voice Responses, and toggle Brief Mode on or off.

Last week, Echo users were terrified when some units started emitting a loud cackle as if Alexa were the Wicked Witch of the West. Whether or not that widespread glitch was a factor in adding this Brief Mode feature to Echo products we don’t know, but the timing certainly makes it seem that way.

If you have an Echo product and can get Brief Mode working, let us know in the comments how you like it!