Companies across industries are turning to unique, branded voice experiences to make their products and services more innovative and compelling.
Voice assistants are taking a leading role in customer-facing applications – literally becoming the voice of the brand. As companies begin to understand the importance of offering voice experiences that increase revenue and reduce costs, they are turning to independent voice AI solutions.
As a result, customers are getting used to brand-owned voice assistants as the call centre agents, sales representatives, greeters, operators and order takers they encounter in their daily lives.
Putting the customer at the centre of the voice experience, meeting consumer demands for greater convenience, creating greater efficiency, staying competitive in the market and building deeper customer relationships are all driving companies to partner with independent voice AI platform providers, to build voice experiences that reflect their unique brands.
A growing demand for voice at the heart of the customer experience
Hardware manufacturers in key industries already have voice-enabled products on their roadmaps. In automotive, 90 per cent of new vehicles globally are predicted to have voice assistants by 2028, and 94 per cent of large companies across industries expect to use voice AI in two years. In addition, there will be 75 billion connected devices worldwide by 2025.
For the growing number of IoT devices that don’t have the physical room for a mouse, keyboard or touch screen, voice AI is a natural and economical interface. Device manufacturers are seeing greater opportunities to voice-enable their products with a widening range of connectivity solutions, from embedded to cloud-only and hybrid.
Customised voice assistants are allowing these companies to improve their customer interactions at every touchpoint while growing brand recognition and loyalty. In a recent study by SoundHound and Opus Research, 77 per cent of business leaders across eight industries stated that voice assistants drove value through improved customer support, and 76 per cent agreed that they help companies control their brand identity and user experience. For those already employing a voice assistant, 81 per cent of companies surveyed are using the technology to improve customer service, and 52 per cent are using it for sales activity.
Why innovative conversational experiences require a more flexible voice platform
Developing voice assistants requires either having all the expertise in house (which is uncommon), or entering into a technology partnership with a voice AI platform partner or a combination of technology providers.
Integrating a mainstream voice assistant from one of the large consumer technology players can offer short-term utility. However, these assistants are primarily an extension of their manufacturer’s services and are likely to overtake the host product’s brand. Companies which choose a mainstream voice assistant often experience a loss of brand control, user loyalty and visibility into valuable data – resulting in an inability to innovate, differentiate and customise their voice-enabled product experiences.
Conversely, independent voice assistants extend the brand value and improve name recognition through customisations, including a branded “wake word” or “wake phrase”. When customers start every conversation with a voice assistant by saying the name associated with your brand, they are building a connection with your product and service offerings, as opposed to creating an affinity for another brand.
Partnering with an independent voice platform such as SoundHound allows companies more flexibility to create voice experiences that extend product functionality. These voice interfaces are designed with their unique users in mind and deliver more accurate responses based on targeted and custom content domains. For instance, car OEMs can provide parking search and reservations, gas station and EV station info, weather, traffic, sports, news and more as part of their infotainment systems, while also allowing drivers to use voice commands to control in-car functions such as rolling down the windows or turning on lights and air conditioning.
Ownership of user data – only available when the voice assistant is built in-house or in partnership with an independent voice AI platform provider –gives brands control over the customer relationship with insights into how the voice interface is used, customer expectation, and improvements to meet user desires. These key elements of the customer relationship are what originally spurred the adoption of custom voice assistant solutions, and they remain the critical aspects of a brand-owned voice strategy today.
The ultimate customer-centric experience
In a SoundHound and Opus Research report, a majority of business leaders (62 per cent) said the main goal of their voice assistant strategy was to offer a consistent brand experience regardless of channels.
The report also found that many companies begin by voice-enabling their mobile apps. Because voice interaction can unlock immediate functionality beyond the limits of a mobile touchscreen, voice-enabled apps are a valuable entry point for brands developing a voice-first strategy.
From there, contact centres, products, websites and point-of-sale devices – such as kiosks and self-service vending machines – make the list of places where brands want to have a voice of their own. The desire to have an omnichannel voice experience reinforces the importance for companies to create their voice experiences on a scalable and independent voice AI platform.
Brands hoping to serve up the same voice, tone and experience on every channel need complete control over the voice experience. Relying on a mainstream voice assistant to provide the voice interface on some channels will result in fragmented experiences in others.
To understand the entire customer journey, companies are adopting specialised voice assistants at the enterprise level. Customised voice assistants in their contact centres and within their customer relationship management (CRM) tools are not only interacting with customers, they’re informing marketing and sales activities and creating organisational efficiencies.
Whether or not brands realise the potential of omnichannel, customer-centric experiences will depend in a large part on their ability to create voice experiences in one place and then propagate them across channels. Voice assistants built on an independent voice AI platform, such as SoundHound, are already helping brands create unique experiences that can be extended into products, services and customer success channels across the organisation.
Discover how we’re leading the voice-first era at SoundHound.com or talk to us to bring your voice strategy to life.
By Michael Zagorsek, COO, SoundHound Inc
