Artificial Intelligence and machine learning have changed the way we perceived the future of technology to be. With more devices adapting to this technology, it comes to no surprise as to how well we humans have altered the consumer trends and our lifestyle as per the new technological evolutions. The addition of voice assistants and smart speakers to it is just another name on the list. 

While the core ideology of voice assistants – the voice recognition, was demonstrated way back in 1962 by IBM in the form of Shoebox [1] – a voice recognizing device that could respond to your voice. However, the actual foundation of voice assistant growth was realized with the developments in the field of AI. The use of superior machine learning techniques such as neural networks is also advancing its utility to new heights in the meantime. Besides, its integrations with IoT devices is giving new ways to enhance personalization benefits, as also demonstrated in CES, 2018.[2] 

Still, this technology is yet to mature up and meet its true potential with plenty of things to come in the future up ahead. But when it comes to communication, even with the machines, we humans have been way more adaptive to it than ever anticipated. 

People Are More Adaptive to Virtual Assistant Technology Today 

A recent report suggests a staggering 78% growth in smart speakers in the United States alone in just one year[3]. The speed at which this has trended has got the attention of many. It would be interesting to see how its expanding scope, along with technologies such as AI, impact our personal spaces, as well as the commercial industry, with its correlative benefits in the meantime.

When tech-giants are already perceiving the voice assistant market as the future and investing more in it, this market is also going to be as lucrative for innovators and early startups. And when it comes to that, the various software development companies already working on this technology of blending voice assistants and AI techniques are not far behind. The possibilities of how well this technology addresses the need for multi-turn conversations, security issues,user dependency in decision making, and feedback mechanisms can impact its presence in the time to come. Subjecting to these factors and how quickly things improve( as they are already), an organization shall have to make its turns smartly and play new cards to cope up with the trends. That is, by adapting to a somewhat disruptive, well-thought, futuristic approach towards voice assistants and AI. 

Voice Search Is the New Trend

Voice search has been more prevalent than ever. It has already started dragging the attention of the organizations worldwide when concerning their brand visibility. With the software development companies with their expert developers adding more to the industry in the form of voice tech integration with apps on mobile devices, the searches being made will contribute to over billions of dollars of revenue economically in the time to come. 

Two main fundamentals are working behind its adaptiveness here. First is its ability to get the best search result within a fraction of seconds (compared to standard desktop/mobile search, which approximates around 2 to 4 seconds, or more) while selecting the best query match as per your need can take even more time. In contrast, you are accompanied by a virtual assistant, on the other hand. Statistics come at the second – more than 1 billion voice searches are being made annually[5]. Amazon is already making a revenue of more than a billion dollars at the same time with its voice search ecommerce.[6]

This active voice engagement with users by meeting their personal needs, such as from setting appointments to booking dinner reservations, movie tickets, or even ordering pizzas, is going to be the innovation, and various such would be cumulating to the rise of voice search by 50% in 2020.[4]

Voice Assistants – Welcoming As An Enterprise Solution

With more skills being added to these voice assistants, their integration with various IT solutions such as staff management and customer services has been made possible, and somewhat quite practical at the same time. While the pros in terms of time-saving do make it a better choice, the training period for its enterprise adaptability is also reflected in how well the employees cope with this technology, as 31% of senior authorities are not yet friendly with voice assistants, neither at work nor home.[7]

Still, voice assistants have been found lucrative by various other industries in the meantime where AI can improve web development and enhance their presence online with new flexibilities. The significant stakeholders here in the coming future for this technology are going to be car manufacturers, E-service providers, healthcare, and banking sectors (most of them for addressing customer needs virtually). With the ability to merge with Alexa skills, IoT is going to be more than just technology and instead connect you to your home and appliances with even more ease and simple voice commands.

Google & Amazon Opening the Doors

While the major tech giants do rule the current voice assistants today, they are not here alone. Besides, significant collaborations between the key players like Microsoft and Alexa, Microsoft, and Google, to look out for new possibilities. They have also opened their doors to using voice technology as an open source where Transcribe and Actions are two significant initiatives from Google & Amazon, respectively.

Challenges and Constraints

 While you would love to ask Alexa to play your favourite song on the speakers out loud, the same hasn’t been sought among users when it comes to making decisions such as spending money for your new microwave. Users have been reserved in delivering the right information and access to decision doing jobs, and this has been one of the possible, and significant constraints as to why these ‘competent’ assistants of today are yet to become the ‘great’ assistants that we fantasize. 

On the other hand, personalization is also focussed on language and on a globe where thousands of languages are spoken worldwide, going for it all, and for everyone isn’t going to be easy. While Google does make its efforts by working with almost 20+ languages that also count as the largest speaking demographics, it is yet to improve its accuracy. Furthermore, security also concerns users and developers when implementing and using crisp technology as voice assistants in their lives. And a significant impact has also been noted at PWC research, where fewer users prefer the home control appliances addressing security as a significant concern.[8]

But since everything is expected to go more towards convenience, software development companies are going to come up with some innovative drive-ups to overcome these constraints and challenges. With more than half of businesses to use AI in one form or the other over their online platforms, VAs are going to be the most sought after tech drivers of the modern-day economy when subjected to technology growth and when addressing the related aspects.

Source

1.   https://www.ibm.com/ibm/history/ibm100/us/en/icons/speechreco/transform/
2.   https://time.com/5100244/best-ces-2018-consumer-electronics-show/
3.   https://www.npr.org/about-npr/682946406/npr-report-smart-speakers-see-78-increase-yoy
4.   https://www.comscore.com/Insights/Presentations-and-Whitepapers/2017/The-Future-of-Voice-From-Smartphones-to-Smart-Speakers-to-Smart-Homes
5.   https://alpine.ai/voice-search-trends/
6.   https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/voice-shopping-set-to-jump-to-40-billion-by-2022-rising-from-2-billion-today-300605596.html
7.   https://mkt.globant.com/voice
8.   https://www.pwc.com/us/en/services/consulting/library/consumer-intelligence-series/voice-assistants.html