Do you know who you're talking to ?

The BBC's development of its own 'voice' application, Beeb, announced last August, has moved to 'Beta' stage (a bit like the Government's exciting Covid-19 app), with Microsoft Windows Insiders allowed to play, rather than the Isle of Wight.

Grace Boswood, COO of BBC Design and Engineering, tells the Guardian it's a defensive move. She imagines the possibility of BBC listeners selecting their next option via a US-developed voice assistant:"The threat to us is, ‘You’ve finished the Archers, here’s a Joe Rogan podcast."

To make sure users know it's British, they've selected a male voice from somewhere near Manchester. Sadly, they've also adopted a rather American sounding 'wake-up' instruction, 'Hey Beeb'.

The BBC doesn't intend to make Beeb products, but says the software could be shared with manufacturers.