Learn how to activate the PS5 voice assistant and enhance your gaming experience with hands-free navigation and quick commands on the new PlayStation 5 console.
The PS5, in fact, does not have a real voice assistant that reacts to the command “Hey PlayStation” . That is, you cannot give commands to your console with your voice, using a microphone, as you do with your smartphone or other similar devices. For example, you cannot command the PS5 with your voice to turn itself off, on or to open a certain game at that moment.
However, what is often referred to as the PS5 voice assistant is actually the Screen Reader feature . The PS5 Screen Reader is an accessibility feature built into Sony consoles. This tool is designed to help players who are blind or have low vision by reading text on the screen aloud. For example, it can read text in menus, settings screens, and other areas of the console aloud.
Now, therefore, I will explain to you how to activate and deactivate the Screen Reader, always keeping in mind that, as I have already told you and I repeat, this function is not used to give commands to the console.
How to Activate PS5 Voice Assistant
- Now that I’ve explained that the PlayStation 5’s voice assistant is nothing more than a Screen Reader, that is, a voice that reads the content you’re viewing, let’s see how to activate this feature on your console.
- First, turn on your PlayStation 5 and, after logging into PSNetwork , go to Settings by pressing the gear icon located at the top right. Next, select Accessibility and then press Screen Reader in the left side menu.
- Once this is done, move to the right of the screen, select Enable screen reader and then turn ON , by pressing the X on the controller, the switch to the right of the entry. Immediately, you will hear the voice of the reader telling you “Active.
- If you want, you can also change some of the player’s parameters: to increase or decrease the speech speed, select Speech Rate and then choose one of the settings from the drop-down menu (e.g. Fast 1 , Slow 2 , etc.).
- If you don’t like the sound of the voice, you can change it by selecting Voice Type and then choosing a different one from the drop-down menu. Finally, if you select Voice Volume , you can adjust the volume of the player’s voice by moving the circle on the bar to the right or left using the PS5 controller .
- Once you’re done, simply exit the PS5 settings and you’re done: from now on, a voice will describe everything you see on your console’s screen, guiding you through the available options.
- When the Screen Reader is active, you can always pause it by pressing the PS+Triangle buttons on the Dual Sense controller . If you want the Reader to read a certain text from the beginning, press the PS+R1 buttons.
By activating the voice assistant on your PS5, you can unlock a whole new level of convenience and control while gaming.