BBC launching voice assistant that gets the British accent

The BBC will launch a new digital voice assistant next year that will be similar to devices developed by Amazon, Apple, Baidu, and Google but — it says — better able to understand the range of dialects and accents found in the British Isles.

The corporation, the UK's state broadcaster, says its product, tentatively called 'Beeb', will not be a physical device but software that can operate on smart speakers, smart TVs, and mobile phones.

The company, which has a workforce of more than 20,000 people, has invited employees from around the UK to record their voices, in a bid to train the software to recognize regional ways of speaking.

"Much like we did with BBC iPlayer, we want to make sure everyone can benefit from this new technology, and bring people exciting new content, programs, and services, in a trusted, easy-to-use way," the corporation said in a statement. "This marks another step in ensuring public service values can be protected in a voice-enabled future."

The company says its assistant will help it "experiment with new programs, features, and experiences".

Chinese technology company Baidu and United States multinational Amazon have the voice assistant market cornered, with a combined 43 percent share, according to technology research company Canalys. Apple's Siri, Google's Assistant, Microsoft's Cortana, and Samsung's Bixby are also fighting for market share.

Currently, around 20 percent of British households have a voice assistant device. People use them to find and play radio stations, research encyclopedias, and interact with other forms of media.

The Guardian newspaper said the BBC's new voice assistant was created by an in-house team. Its main function is likely to be to help people find their favorite programs and ensure they can easily interact with online services. Beeb is not expected to offer the full range of services provided by larger rivals.

The device's artificial voice will be based on the voice of a real person, the corporation said, but no decision has been made as to who that will be.

The BBC said some people have concerns about commercial voice assistants because of targeted advertising and security issues and noted they may be more willing to trust a BBC voice assistant.

"People know and trust the BBC, so it will use its role as public service innovator in technology to ensure everyone — not just the tech-elite — can benefit from accessing content and new experiences in this new way," the BBC statement said.

The UK-based technology tabloid website The Inquirer said the BBC's announcement surprised the industry "as this didn't seem to be on the corporation's to-do list".

The news that the corporation has spent time and money developing such a device comes as the BBC has said the future of BBC Two, BBC Four, and BBC Five Live could be threatened by a funding crisis.