VOICE ASSISTANT WITH CONTEXTUALLY-ADJUSTED AUDIO OUTPUT

1 . A method for generating synthesized speech of a voice assistant having a contextually-adjusted audio output using a voice-enabled device, the method comprising:

identifying media content characteristics associated with media content;

identifying base characteristics of audio output;

generating contextually-adjusted characteristics of audio output based at least in part on the base characteristics and the media content characteristics; and

using the contextually-adjusted audio output characteristics to generate the synthesized speech.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the contextually-adjusted characteristics of audio output are further based on user-specific adjustments to the base characteristics of audio output.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein using the contextually-adjusted audio output comprises receiving voice content and generating the synthesized speech to convey the voice content to the user according to the contextually-adjusted audio output.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein identifying the media content characteristics comprises:

analyzing audio of the media content to determine musical characteristics of the media content; and

analyzing media content metadata to determine metadata-based characteristics.

5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein generating a contextually-adjusted audio output is based at least in part upon the musical characteristics of the media content.

6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein generating the contextually-adjusted audio output comprises generating mood-related attributes that are compatible with the musical characteristics of the media content.

7 . The method of claim 5 , wherein generating the contextually-adjusted audio output comprises generating mood-related attributes that are compatible with metadata-based characteristics of the media content.

8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the user-specific adjustments are based on the user's listening history.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein using the contextually-adjusted audio output to generate synthesize speech further comprises:

selecting words to be spoken by the voice assistant using a natural language generator based upon language adjustments associated with the contextually-adjusted audio output characteristics; and

determining a pronunciation and an emotion for speaking the words based upon speech adjustments associated with the contextually-adjusted audio output characteristics.

10 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising generating a mood associated with the contextually-adjusted audio output, the mood comprising:

the contextually-adjusted audio output;

one or more audio cues; and

one or more visual representations.

11 . A voice assistant system comprising:

at least one processing device; and

at least one computer readable storage device storing data instructions that, when executed by the at least one processing device, cause the at least one processing device to:

identify media content characteristics associated with media content;

identify base characteristics of audio output;

generate contextually-adjusted audio output characteristics based at least in part on the base characteristics of audio output and the media content characteristics; and

use the contextually-adjusted audio output characteristics to generate synthesized speech.

12 . The voice assistant system of claim 11 , further comprising a voice-enabled device configured for interaction with a user via voice, wherein the voice-enabled device comprises the at least one processing device and the at least one computer readable storage device.

13 . The voice assistant system of claim 11 , further comprising a media delivery system comprising at least one server computing device comprising the at least one processing device at the at least one computer readable storage device.

14 . The voice assistant system of claim 11 , wherein the base characteristics of audio output are user-specific characteristics of audio output generated based at least in part on a listening history of a user and brand characteristics of audio output.

15 . The voice assistant system of claim 11 , wherein the data instructions that cause the at least one processing device to identify media content characteristics associated with media content further comprises:

analyzing audio content of the media content to identify musical characteristics of the media content; and

analyzing media content metadata of the media content to identify metadata based characteristics of the media content; and

wherein the media content characteristics used to generate the contextually-adjusted audio output further comprise:

the musical characteristics of the media content; and

the metadata characteristics of the media content.

16 . The voice assistant system of claim 11 , wherein generating the contextually-adjusted audio output is performed by a contextual audio output adjuster, and wherein the contextual audio output adjuster further comprises data instructions that cause the at least one processing device to:

generate language adjustments based on the contextually-adjusted audio output;

send the language adjustments to a natural language generator to select words to be spoken by the voice assistant;

generate speech adjustments based on the contextually-adjusted audio output; and

send the speech adjustments to a text-to-speech engine, the speech adjustments defining pronunciation adjustments and emotion adjustments to be applied to the words when spoken by the voice assistant.