Summary

  • Celebrity partnerships with Google are on the rise, offering a fun twist to your usual voice assistant and navigation experience.
  • Amazon has also jumped on the celebrity voice bandwagon with its Alexa assistant, charging a fee for certain options.
  • To celebrate the release of Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, Waze users can now enjoy actor Dan Aykroyd’s comical paranormal-themed comments.



Whether you have a smart speaker in your home or you use Google Assistant on your phone, you may have noticed some familiar voices over the years. For instance, musician John Legend lent his voice to Google back in 2019, allowing Assistant users to receive responses in his iconic tone. The company has integrated other celebrity voices into its Waze navigation service as well, and now, another familiar star is getting in on the action.


Waze logo on a phone screen

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Just in time for the release of Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, Google has partnered with actor Dan Aykroyd, who plays Ray Stantz in the franchise. Aykroyd’s voice can now be activated in the Waze app by choosing the “Spooky” mood. By doing so, you’ll receive a slew of comical, paranormal-themed comments from the actor during your drive. To take advantage of the feature, you’ll need to make sure you have the most recent version of the Waze app. The new film is slated to drop on March 22.


Celebrity partnerships are becoming more common

Hearing a celebrity voice navigate your trip might seem strange, but Google’s partnerships with famous icons have become somewhat notable. In some cases, the Big Tech company has partnered with people like comedians Stephen Colbert and James Veitch for humor. To mix things up a bit, Google has also introduced characters like Cookie Monster from Sesame Street and Kung Fu Panda.



While it might seem gimmicky, it isn’t just Google that has turned to the power of celebrities to push its products and services — Amazon has gotten in on it, too. The company has long been leveraging Hollywood’s most familiar voices for its own Alexa assistant. In 2019, for example, it introduced Samuel L. Jackson’s voice as an Alexa speaker option. However, the company chose to charge device owners $1 for access to the feature. Google isn’t charging Waze users to enable Aykroyd’s voice. That being said, it may only be available for a limited time, so Ghostbusters fans should take advantage of the feature as soon as possible.