How to download, configure and enable Alice on your phone using a voice command? Detailed instructions for Android owners

Why do you need to install Alice?

The voice assistant is capable of performing both simple and complex manipulations on your device, namely:

• Find information about celebrities or historical figures, tell interesting facts from the field of science, politics, art, etc.
• Answer simple questions: “what time is it?”, “what date is it today”, etc. Find out what kind of answering machines are available on Android.
• Manage programs installed and preinstalled on your smartphone.
• Follow links or open browser tabs.
• Provide a quick overview of regional news, weather, time and exchange rates.
• Set an alarm and timer.
• Call a taxi to the specified address.
• Carry out any mathematical operations.
• Monitor situations on the road.
• Maintain a simple conversation on a given topic.
• Call a dictated number or contact from your address book.
• Play music: both individual tracks and search by author, text or mood. Did you know that you can play music on your smartphone?

To see the full list of Alice’s capabilities, ask your assistant the question: “Alice, what can you do?”

Alice is the brainchild of Yandex developers, created specifically for Russian-speaking users, and is a competitor, as well as in many ways an analogue of Google Assistant, which is still not the best optimized for the Russian language. Thanks to a self-learning algorithm, the voice assistant's vocabulary is constantly updated.

The assistant answers in the pleasant voice of Tatyana Shitova (Russian dubbing actress). Most phrases sound as natural as possible, but due to the complexity of the Russian language, when it comes to setting phrases, stresses and declensions, errors may occur. See also the complete list of the most needed applications for Android this year.

Alice from Yandex: its capabilities on a smartphone

Alisa is a domestic voice assistant from Yandex with quite a lot of functionality and a pleasant voice - actress Tatyana Shitova. Alice is a self-learning artificial intelligence. Its knowledge base is regularly updated with new requests from users. The assistant knows how to give impromptu answers to the same questions, taking into account the context of the conversation.

On smartphones, the bot can perform the following actions:

• tell the weather for any day in any city;
• turn on the music;
• determine your location;
• create a to-do list (dictated tasks will go to the Yandex cloud service);
• guess the song;
• get directions;
• talk about traffic jams;
• launch some third-party utilities, for example, Instagram, VKontakte;
• tell an anecdote, poem, fairy tale;
• joke;
• recommend a movie to watch;
• calculate using the built-in calculator;
  Alice can count simple arithmetic problems with one operation
• search for information on the Internet.

Video: what Alice can do

How to install Alice on Android?

Alice is not a separate utility - it is included with Yandex Browser. In order to enlist the help of a voice assistant, you must:

1. Go to Play Market.
2. Enter “Yandex Browser” into the search bar and select “Yandex Browser - with Alice” from the loaded list.
3. Download the application - make sure your device has enough memory for this

1. After this (and if Yandex Browser is pre-installed), you can immediately proceed to installing the voice assistant.
2. Go to the Play Market again and enter the request “Alice Yandex”.
3. Click Install or Update.

Setting up via Yandex Browser

To be able to call Alice by voice, you need to configure the settings in the Yandex application itself. The procedure is carried out in seven steps:

1. Go to Yandex Browser from your device or click “Open” in the Play Market immediately after downloading the browser.
2. Scroll through the promotional information and click on the “get started” button.
3. To start using the voice assistant, click "allow" on the request for location and microphone access.
4. Once on the main page, tap on the purple icon with a white triangle in the center.

1. Check out the list of voice assistant features. Try asking any question by voice, writing it, or selecting the appropriate section.
2. Click on the blue “All Skills” to see the full list of Assistant capabilities.
3. You can now launch Alice using a voice command or by pressing the shortcut on the home screen.

Connecting "Alice" to the TV

Please note: you can only connect a large Yandex.Station to your TV, not a Mini one. With the help of this “Alice” you can watch movies and TV channels on the big screen.

The large “Yandex.Station” will thus play the role of a set-top box, but without a remote control - all commands are performed only by voice. How to connect the Alice station (speaker)? It's simple: connect the speaker to the TV using an HDMI cable. If the connection was successful, on the display you will see the familiar Alice interface with a text representation of voice queries and search results for them.

How to enable Alice on Android via Google Assistant?

On some devices, using Alice as the main voice assistant is not possible. However, you can configure it through Google Assistant, using the special Voice Match function. Here's how to do it:

1. Say the command “Open Yandex”
2. The second step is to call Alice and make the necessary settings in accordance with the instructions above.

The main disadvantage of this method is the need to execute the above commands each time before using the Alice functionality.

Setting up and temporarily disabling Alice functions on Android

This method is suitable if the inconvenience of using the assistant lies in its excessive “responsiveness” to any phrases that it reads as voice commands:

1. Open Yandex Browser.
2. Go to the menu (three dots to the right of the search bar).
3. Open the settings section and go to “Voice capabilities”.
4. “Don’t use voice” will disable any voice search, and “Voice activation” will disable the assistant’s response to “Listen, Alice/Yandex”. Now the voice assistant can only be launched by clicking on the purple icon.

Disabling Alice in the Yandex application

Settings may change their location in the browser over time, but the algorithm of actions remains the same, with the exception of fundamental changes with the voice assistant.

1. Launch the application and find the button that leads to the browser settings.

2. In the list that opens, select “Settings”. Here we will look for the necessary buttons that affect the behavior of the “assistant”.

3. Scroll the list of settings to the “ALICE” section.

You will make changes to the section:

• Voice activation
• System assistant

4. In the first paragraph, disable both calls

5. In the second click on the “Helper” function and activate the “NO” function.

Additionally, you can disable the microphone for the Yandex browser in the settings of Android itself. And then Alice will definitely not hear anything; she will react to your actions only when, after activating her, you use the text templates offered by the application.

To do this, select “Applications” in the settings.

Find Yandex and go to its settings. Then open the “Permissions” section.

Find “Microphone” in the list and turn it off. It is enabled by default.

That's all you can do to disable Alice on your Android phone.

How to completely remove Alice from your smartphone?

If the Internet is weak, the browser with Alice may not work correctly and waste a decent percentage of traffic. Then you can use one of two ways to get rid of the voice assistant.

Method one

1. Go to your smartphone settings.
2. Go to Applications.
3. In the list of applications, find the voice prompt program and click “Uninstall”.

Method two

1. Go to Google Play and type “Yandex” into the search bar.
2. Select the browser you have installed.
3. Go to the application page and click "Delete".

How to set up the Alice voice assistant on your phone

Alice is a component of Yandex.Browser, the Yandex search application and, of course, Yandex.Navigator. Let's look at how to set up an assistant in these three programs.

In Yandex.Browser: voice activation, changing the language, adding the Alice icon to the Desktop

If you use Alice through the developer’s proprietary browser, you can go to the settings and change the assistant’s settings as follows:

1. Scroll the new tab in the browser with visual bookmarks to the feed with recommendations - tap on the icon with three dots on the right.
   In the white menu, select the settings section. Open the browser menu through the three dots icon
2. Scroll through the options page and click on “Voice Features.”
   Expand the “Voice Options” menu
3. By default, your voice assistant will be activated.
   When the first option is active, you can turn on or off voice deactivation using the yellow toggle switch. Voice activation can be enabled if you have the first option installed
4. To add an Alice icon to your mobile desktop, click on the “Add to Home Screen” option.
   A round purple icon with a picture of a microphone inside will appear on the main screen of your smartphone. After adding, an icon with a microphone inside will immediately appear on the home screen
5. If you set it to Voice Search, you will have the option to change the voice search language.
   Tap on the “Language...” menu. Select voice search and click on “Voice search language”
6. Select one of five languages ​​from the new menu.
   Select the required language from the menu
7. Having the "Don't use voice" option active will mean you won't be able to call Alice or make searches by voice.
   To disable voice communication with Alice, set the value to “Do not use voice”

Settings in the Yandex search application

First, let’s set up voice activation in the Yandex search program:

1. Tap on the icon with three stripes in the upper left corner of the application (on its main page with the search bar).
2. In the menu on a dark background, click on “Settings”.
   Tap on the item for settings
3. Scroll through the settings to the “Voice Activation” block.
   Tap on it. Go to menu for voice activation
4. If you want to completely turn off the voice activation of the assistant, put two switches in the “Off” position.
   (they will turn gray). Enable or disable Alice's voice activation phrases

Setting up offline search

If you constantly experience interruptions in the Internet, activate the search option in offline mode, that is, when you do not have an Internet connection. The application downloads search results for popular queries in advance, then quickly shows them to the user if there is no network on the device:

1. Go to the application settings and scroll to the “Offline search” block (it will be below Alice’s voice activation).
2. Click on the only item in the menu. In the search settings, enable the option using the switch.
3. Please note that the function will take up extra space in the smartphone’s memory, so we use it only if there is free space.
   Below we see the amount of memory that pre-loaded search results for common queries will occupy. You can enable offline information search in Alice - it will download answers to popular queries

Caller ID setup

The caller ID option is available only to owners of Android phones, if, of course, you have the Yandex search application installed. 5 million Russian numbers of various advertising companies have been entered into the identifier database, and it is constantly updated. The system will show you who is calling you, and you can simply not pick up the phone. You can activate the function as follows:

1. Click on the three-bar icon in the app.
   Tap on the hamburger icon on the left
2. Select “Caller ID” from the dark menu.
   Open the Caller ID menu
3. In the white dialog box, click Allow.
   Click on “Allow” to enable the option
4. If access to contacts in the phone book is deactivated in your smartphone settings, turn it on.
   Also activate phone access. We open access to contacts and phone number in Yandex settings
5. If, when activating the function, you receive a message that you need to turn off overlays, launch the device settings panel.
   Follow the link "Open settings"
6. Turn on the "Allow overlay on top of other windows" option.
   Allow overlays in your phone settings
7. As a result, you will receive a message that the caller ID has been successfully enabled - click on “Okay”.
   Tap the “Okay” button in the notification

If Yandex fails to identify the number, then after the call you will be asked to leave a review of the number, as well as indicate the reason why they called you and describe the situation: silence on the phone, imposition of services, demand to repay the debt, etc. If you missed call (did not hear the call), you can then view data about this number.

Displaying a widget with a voice assistant on the main screen, as well as deleting it

You can display Alice’s shortcut on your home screen not only through the Yandex Browser settings:

1. Select any free space on the home screen and pinch it (keep your finger in one place).
   Hold your finger on an empty space on the home screen
2. The smartphone will vibrate and the “Widgets” option will appear.
   Expand the "Widgets" menu
3. Click on "Applications and Widgets".
   Tap on "Applications and Widgets"
4. Find the purple microphone button.
   Select Alice from the list of widgets
5. Drag it to your home screen.
   Install the Alice widget on your home screen

Deleting conversation and correspondence history with Alice

If you want to get rid of the contents of your chat with Alice, follow the steps:

1. Open the Alice panel (using a shortcut on the home screen or an icon in the mobile application itself).
   In the search program it is located in the lower right corner. Using the Alice icon on the bottom right, open her panel
2. Tap on the icon with three dots in the top right corner.
   Click on the three dots icon
3. Select clear history.
   Click on "Clear history"
4. Confirm deleting all data.
   Confirm your intention to delete all data from the chat
5. Clearing history is also possible in the settings of Yandex.Browser itself or the Yandex search application.
   Click on “Clear history” and also confirm the action. In this case, the contents of the chat and the entire history of the utility as a whole will be deleted. Open your browser settings and clear all Alice and browser history

Is it possible to change the voice of the assistant?

Changing your voice is only available in Yandex.Navigator, but not in the browser or search program. In the last two options you will have to listen to the voice of Tatyana Shitova. We'll tell you how to make a replacement in a navigation application:

1. Click on the icon with three lines in the bottom right corner - go to the settings section.
   Open settings through the navigator menu
2. Select a voice block.
   Tap on “Voice”
3. Install one of the downloaded voices.
   Select a voice from the downloaded ones
4. Or use one of the voices in the second menu "Available for download", which you will need to download first.
   You can download additional voices if you don't want to use the standard ones

Is it possible to make Alice the default assistant?

Google Assistant is initially installed on an Android smartphone. He is also the default assistant. If you have downloaded Alice and want to make it your main utility, follow these steps:

1. Open the device settings through the gear icon on the home screen.
   Open the settings menu on your phone
2. Go to the "Applications and Features" section.
   Open the "Applications and Features" section
3. Select the “Default Applications” block, and in it the assistant and voice input. Place Alice as the main assistant.
4. Another faster way is to hold down the “Home” key or icon on your phone and select Alice (this will be the name of one of the Yandex applications installed on your smartphone).
   Check the box next to “Remember selection”. Select Yandex or Browser as your default assistant

Is it possible to enable Alice in the background?

Alice does not run in the background on smartphones - the option is only available on PCs. On mobile devices, to launch the assistant via voice, you must first open the application of which it is a part, and then say “Listen, Alice.”