We talk to her all the time. We ask her questions, inquire for directions and seek advice. Of course, we’re referring to Siri, the interactive voice of the iPhone personal assistant, aka Susan Bennett from Atlanta.
In an interview with CNN carried on Oct. 4, Bennett claims she is the real voice behind Siri.
“It seemed like everyone was clamoring to find out who the real voice behind Siri is, and so I thought, well, you know, what the heck? This is the time,” Bennett tells CNN.
The woman whose voice is heard round the world never knew that she would become Siri. According to her personal website, Bennett has over 20 years of voice-over experience and has done work for Ford, Coca-Cola, Fisher Price, McDonald’s, Delta Airlines and The Cartoon Network.
“Behind this groundbreaking technology there is a real woman. While the ever-secretive Apple has never identified her, all signs indicate that the original voice of Siri in the United States is a voiceover actor who laid down recordings for a client eight years ago. She had no idea she'd someday be speaking to more than 100 million people through a not-yet-invented phone,” says CNN.
So how did Bennett become a computerized go-to voice in millions of pockets and purses worldwide?
In her video interview carried on CNN, Bennett says in July of 2005 she was contracted with a software company to record different sayings and words for four hours a day, every day, for the whole month.
“When I recorded those voices I had absolutely no idea where they would end up,” Bennett admits.
Susan said she didn’t know she was Siri until she got a call from a perplexed friend.
“The first time I actually heard my voice as Siri was when my friend emailed and said, ‘Isn’t this you?’ Because I didn’t have the newest version of the iPhone I went to the Apple site and that’s where I heard the voice and I just went ‘Oh, that is me,’” Bennett said.
“When I first discovered that that was my voice to be honest it was a little creepy,” Susan said. “I’m used to hearing my voice maybe in the airport but this real thing that you can interact with in your hand… it took some time to get used to it but, [Siri] and I are friends now.”
Well, nice to finally meet you Susan.
