What Is a Wake Word? How to Choose a Name for a Voice Product
A wake word is a fixed phrase that wakes a device or starts a voice interaction. It is not simply the product name: it is a phrase that a model must listen for reliably.
What a wake word does
Instead of sending every sound to ASR, a product can listen locally for a phrase such as “Hey device”. After detection, it can start command capture or a broader voice interaction.
Wake word vs. command vs. ASR
| Type | Purpose | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Wake word | Start listening | Hey device |
| Command keyword | Trigger a known action | Turn on the light |
| ASR | Understand open speech | Set the living-room light to 50% |
How to choose a wake-word name
- avoid a single short, common syllable;
- choose a phrase that is uncommon in normal conversation;
- avoid words that sound like brand names, contacts or common commands;
- consider syllables and accents separately for each language;
- test the phrase with the final microphone, distance and background noise.
A name is not a complete model
The name is only the first decision. A product still needs a KWS model, thresholds, consecutive-frame confirmation, cooldown and false-trigger handling. An easy-to-pronounce phrase is not automatically reliable on every device.
If the product also needs “on”, “off” and “next”, a multi-keyword model can cover the fixed command set. If users can speak freely, add ASR instead.
Enter and test a wake word →View the open-source inference engine and demo models →
ONNX / TFLite · Android · ESP32 · Web · Python · Home Assistant