Purpose, potential and pitfalls of customer-facing voice AI

In 2018, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said: Demonstrated Google Duplex Assistant At the company’s developer conference. While fluently conversing with a real person, the assistant could make an appointment for a haircut or reserve a table at a restaurant, all the while using realistic and nuanced human speech patterns (“hmm” and “ahh”). complete).

The audience applauded the feat enthusiastically, but observers, in Twitter circles and beyond, were quick to question what they heard.

A few Called the caricature “scary” others the deception worked — The person on the other end of the line is completely unaware that he or she is talking to a bot.

In the end, the entire episode wasn’t a great PR for artificial intelligence or advanced voice technology. But that’s a pity. Because voice AI has huge potential to empower consumers and deliver value to the companies that deploy it. But only if you have a clear understanding of its purpose and limitations.

Speech AI in Nature

One of the best examples is ordering food.

Extremely high inflation is driving up costs for restaurant owners, while labor shortages make restaurant owners struggling to keep up with customer demand (which is slow to weaken Position–blockade). Some smaller restaurants have their phones ringing all the time, while some larger ones have compulsory calls. keep drive thru client waitingleading to frustration.

As such, more and more companies are turning to voice technology to fill the gap.

It makes perfect sense. As long as voice technology is sophisticated enough, it might surprise you. how smart that is now – have Voice AI Taking orders frees your employees to do the important work of creating delicious food and providing a great experience for customers who dine in.

No one can be fooled in this scenario. This kind of voice AI tends to declare its inhuman status if it’s not already obvious. Customers are satisfied and service industry professionals are supported and not compromised.

Good service, not servants

So what about this idea: instead of each of us having our own humanoid, Jeeves What if (like in the Google Duplex scenario) different brands and companies had their own assistants forming a broad ecosystem of voice helpers? In this way companies assert their own brand identities. and build one-to-one relationships with customers without a middleman. Customers can work with voice AI. know It’s the product or service the company has to offer, not the Alexa-style assistant you fumble through.

For example, restaurant voice assistants get used to menus. They learn their favorite combinations. They can make changes and suggestions. They learn how to upsell.Why it could not be replicated across other hospitality or retail, or professional services? The answer is: it is possible and it is starting to happen.

Instead of thinking about creating sentient AI servants, we need to start thinking of voice assistants as functional tools that can be turned in this way. In the “real world” most of us don’t have servants or envoys to negotiate on our behalf. Why not replicate a working system instead of an outdated system?

We believe that is the beginning of what we are doing, which will make the experience of both brands and customers more vivid and rewarding.

Importantly, this is not about replacing staff with large armies. voice assistantIt’s about giving employees the time and space they need to focus on important tasks, streamlining unwieldy ordering systems, and increasing company sales. It’s also about letting customers step away from screens and devices and order in the most natural, human way we know: our voice.

Zubin Irani is CRO at SoundHound.