Meet the voice behind Google Maps

Hyderabad: The voice of Australian voice actress Karen Jacobsen has become one of the most enduring elements in vehicles around the world.

Your voice is used in Google Maps and other GPS apps to help drivers navigate unfamiliar routes.

More than a billion Google devices are currently equipped with the Maps function. “The only woman whose commands men follow without question,” says Jacobsen jokingly.

Jacobsen told Great Big Story, a London-based documentary film company: “I am known as the only woman who gave men instructions.”

She said she was approached by GPS maker Garmin in the early 2000s to work as a voice artist for their Google Maps feature, saying her Australian accent was best suited for the role as it was “pleasant to listen to.”

Jacobsen told the big story: “My voice landed in over a billion GPS and smartphone devices, giving direction to people all over the world. It’s me who says you’ve reached your destination.”

When asked about her background, she said: “I’m originally from Mackay, a town in North Queensland near the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. I wanted to be a professional singer and move to America, and I followed that dream to New York.”

“Shortly after I moved there in 2002, there was an audition for voice actors and a client was looking for a native Australian living in the northeastern United States. I realized I had all the qualifications, so I went to the audition and got the job.”

She also said her Australian heritage gave her an advantage over her competitors.

She said: “At the time, I was told that the Australian voice was a high priority because the Australian accent is considered to be the most pleasant English-speaking accent.”

Jacobsen said: “There was a huge script, a massive script! The team of engineers had figured out every possible combination of syllables for me to record, and so they were able to create the GPS voice based on my speaking voice.”

“Some of the phrases I recorded are: ‘At the next intersection, turn left,’ ‘At the roundabout, turn right,’ ‘You have reached your destination,'” Jacobsen added.

She said that in order for GPS engineers to get the perfect voice, she was instructed to say the phrase “approximately” 168 times in a row throughout the recording process.

Jacobsen said speaking in her voice was “fun” and she is excited that her voice will remain familiar on phones for years to come.

She also told Great Big Story: “My voice will live on forever, even if the power goes to my head. I think that’s overwhelming.”

In addition, Karen Jacobsen’s voice was also used in Apple’s virtual assistant Siri, which uses speech recognition to respond.

Ironically, Jacobsen finds it difficult to use the app because Siri cannot understand her voice.

She told The Daily Telegraph: “My husband can ask Siri a question, my son can ask her a question; they get answers, but when I ask a question, she doesn’t understand me. We’ve experimented again and again, but it’s just the weirdest thing.”

“I don’t think it’s because I don’t speak clearly. I can speak very well. I just find it completely confusing,” she added.

Jacobsen has also tried her hand at singing.