Meta debuts AI chatbot voiced by celebrities Judi Dench, Awkwafina and others [Video]

Meta’s artificial intelligence-powered chatbot spoke to CEO Mark Zuckerberg in a voice familiar to fans of American actress, comedian and rapper Awkwafina in a demo of the enhanced AI tool on Wednesday. 

That’s because Meta AI, the company’s virtual assistant, now reads aloud its responses to user queries, and can do so in the voice of a number of celebrities, the technology company announced at its Connect conference. The chatbot, which Meta says has roughly 400 million users, lets you choose the voice you hear.

Now those voices include Awkwafina, Kristin Bell, John Cena, Dame Judi Dench and Keegan-Michael Key, the company said. More generic voice options will also be available.

“I think that voice is going to be a way more natural way of interacting with AI than text. It is just a lot better,” Zuckerberg said in announcing the …