Voice AI: A Conversational Customer Journey - How voice technologies are transforming marketing and the customer experience as we speak - Annalect
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Annalect > Consulting Voice AI: A Conversational Customer Journey How voice technologies are transforming marketing and the customer experience as we speak. annalect.com
The voice of the customer The era of voice-enabled search and commerce has
arrived, and advertisers need to ready themselves
has literally taken on a new for this new paradigm. By embedding their brands
into conversations with customers, advertisers can
meaning, thanks to recent provide personalized solutions for just about any
problem. However, most still need to figure out
advances in voice-enabled how to seamlessly integrate voice into the customer
experience, efficiently capture and manage this new
technology and artificial data stream, and assess resources to ensure they can
fully capitalize on this new world of “speak to shop.”
intelligence (AI) In this paper, we aim to clarify the key concepts of
voice AI, explain how the technology is changing
Through voice assistants like Siri, and voice-enabled consumers’ digital behavior, explore how leading
speakers like the Amazon Echo, advertisers are brands are taking advantage, and what you should be
presented with a new opportunity to speak up. doing to get ready for the new era of voice commerce.
Voice AI: A Conversational Customer Journey3
What is Voice AI?
Voice-powered artificial intelligence is the technology The most common representations of artificial
that brings together speech recognition software, intelligence-based voice technologies are digital
natural language processing (NLP), and machine voice assistants and voice-enabled speakers:
learning, to enable conversational interactions
between humans and voice-activated devices. This • Voice assistants are intelligent software agents
technology converts human speech into queries that interact via voice with customers (think Siri).
whereby voice AI applications can help users with They can be activated through a variety of devices,
tasks of varying complexity, including multi-step such as smartphones, speakers, computers, TVs,
requests such as buying movie tickets, ordering pizza, and other Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices.
or making travel arrangements.
• Voice-enabled speakers are stand-alone speakers
While speech recognition technology has been that are enabled with voice assistant technology
around for a while (dating back to the ‘60s when IBM (think Amazon’s Echo). They connect with
launched Shoebox: a speech recognition tool that services to provide information, play music,
identified 16 words and single digits), the increased and complete tasks, such as ordering food
accuracy attained in NLP and AI algorithms in the or checking traffic. They can also connect
last ten years have markedly fueled the growth of and interact with compatible IoT devices,
voice technology. Today, it is estimated that voice such as appliances or wearables, to complete
assistants are able to recognize speech and achieve household tasks like running the dishwasher.
word precision with 95% accuracy. In addition, given
the abundance of customer data, the opportunity for
voice assistants to curate and personalize everyday
experiences for users is pivotal.
The most well-known voice assistants and speakers are illustrated below:
Other
Alexa Google Assistant Siri Cortana Bixby Facebook +
Ozlo
Voice Assistants
SoundHound
Echo Google Home HomePod Invoke Bixby Speaker
Voice Enabled
Speakers Nuance Nina ID4
Is Voice AI Changing Consumers’
Digital Behavior?
Voice AI creates a more natural and conversational voice-assisted devices in use in the U.S. Other popular
experience between humans and machines smart speakers (US) include Google Home, Apple
(smartphones included). The tediousness of opening HomePod, Harman Kardon Invoke (powered by MS
a browser, typing and scanning search results has Cortana), among others. Amazon is now licensing the
been replaced with an assistant that responds to our Alexa product and it is embedded on multiple third-
commands with a welcoming voice, telling us what party devices, like Sonos speakers.
we need to know. Not only that, but its ability to tap
into users’ data, browsing behaviors, media histories, While most voice assistants have similar functionality,
and other unique identifiable data points, delivers a key differences emerge from their parent company’s
more curated and personalized experience, reducing heritage and vision. Siri’s greater market share is partly
“As of January 2018,
there were an estimated
one billion voice
searches per month.” Alpine AI
friction with the technology and simplifying the explained by being the first to market, in addition
decision-making process for customers. to Apple’s dominance on smart mobile features.
Cortana, linked to Windows and everything Microsoft,
Voice is already changing the way we search. displays a greater focus on productivity. Google
Nowadays, one in four searches is conducted via Assistant’s strength resides in the longstanding history
voice, and this figure is expected to reach 50% by of Google’s search engine, making it one of the most
2020. Roughly 91 million people, or almost 28% powerful voice assistants in the market. And Amazon’s
of the US population, uses voice assistants at least Alexa aims at integrating itself to whole-house
monthly, with millennials representing the largest management and services, as a link to Amazon’s vast
group of users (49%), followed by Gen X-ers (35%). e-commerce empire.
The most popular voice digital assistants are Apple
Siri, Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Microsoft
Cortana, and Samsung Bixby. Siri owns the largest
market share in the US, with 41.4 million monthly
active users. As far as smart speakers, Amazon Echo
leads the pack, with 66.6% share of the 61.1 million
Voice AI: A Conversational Customer Journey5
US Voice Assistant Users (Millions)
eMarketer
91.0
100.5
105.8
2020 Projection:
72.1 50% of searches
54.6
will be conducted
by voice Comscore
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
2020 Projection: % of US
“The Echo Dot population using smart speakers
was the best- (76.5 Million)
%
selling product on 23
all of Amazon in
the 2018 holiday
season” Techcrunch
eMarketer
How US playing music 97%
voice-enabled weather / news 94%
speaker owners
general questions 90%
are using them
timers / alarms / reminders 87%
December 2017
to-do lists / shopping list 71% $1.8 Billion in 2017
…and a projected
OC&C making a purchase 62% $40 Billion in 2022
enabling smart home devices 57%
emails / calls 55%6
How Will Voice AI Impact Brands?
As the adoption of voice assistants and voice-enabled hard to imagine that voice-commerce is where
speakers continues to grow, voice AI agents will they’ll go next. Some search professionals are already
have a greater role mediating (or disintermediating) anticipating the emergence of voice ad-exchanges,
customers’ interactions with brands. where advertisers will bid to get their brands to the
top spot. The first execution of this solution has just
When compared to paid search, voice-enabled hit the market: Instreamatic.ai is the first company to
devices typically provide a single response to most serve “voice ads that people can speak with.”
queries. This is because their goal is to surface the
most relevant content for the user and simplify the In addition to competing for the top voice slot,
dialog to accomplish tasks. Therefore, whereas on marketers should realize that in this new voice
desktop and mobile, advertisers were satisfied with ecosystem, access to customer data generated
landing among the first couple of pages of search through third-party devices will most likely be owned
results, with voice, they will have to compete for the by the voice-AI makers—which, coincidentally, are
top slot (or top three at most, since users are unlikely also the major advertising walled gardens (we could
to listen to more than a few results through voice very well be witnessing the early stages of future
assistants). Despite Amazon and Google’s current sound/voice walled gardens.)
focus on providing a great user experience, it’s not
Voice AI: A Conversational Customer Journey7
Some first-mover advertisers have already begun incorporating voice
and artificial intelligence into their products and services to outpace
the competition.
Auto In 2017, Nissan announced that is working with Microsoft and its Connected
Vehicle Platform, to integrate Cortana into some Nissan models. Cortana will
adapt preferences and features based on drivers and passengers on board.
For example, through the calendar integration in Cortana, the driver could
ask about his or her schedule for guidance on where to go next, and get
suggestions on shortcuts to their destination. In addition to Cortana, Nissan
also announced that Alexa will be able to lightly operate some Nissan models
(turning the engine on/off, operating locks and horn, etc.)
Travel & Hospitality In partnership with IBM, Hilton piloted Connie, the first intelligent robot
concierge in the hospitality industry. Connie is powered by Watson, IBM’s AI
supercomputer, and she works side-by-side with Hilton’s guest services, to
help with visitor requests, personalize guest experiences, and support travelers
with additional information to plan their trips. Connie uses a combination of
technologies including Watson APIs (Dialog, Speech to Text, Text to Speech,
and Natural Language Classifier), and a partnership with WayBlazer (which has
extensive travel domain knowledge) to interact with hotel guests and address
their travel needs. Hilton’s goal is to deepen customer and brand engagement
through innovative and more personalized experiences.
Retail Walmart and Target joined forces with Google to compete against Amazon’s
Alexa-enabled shopping services. Walmart will be offering hundreds of
thousands of items for voice shopping through Google Assistant. Through
the personalization of the partnership, customers will be able to order generic
items like cheese or pasta, and Google Assistant will know which brands
and size the user prefers. This year, Target will give users the option to link
their Target.com accounts to Google, for similar personalization features (as
Walmart). Google Express or Uber will take care of the delivery.
CPG The fast food giant McDonald’s partnered with Microsoft to develop an app
that takes advantage of MS cognitive technology to convert drive-through
orders into text, and send it directly into an integrated POS system for faster
processing and even faster drive-through meal delivery.
Finance Capital One developed an Alexa skill that allows customers to check their
credit card balance or make payments when due. The skill has the necessary
safeguards in place: it performs security checks and requires customers to
sign in using a username and password. Once the skill is open, users must
provide a four-digit code to confirm their identity. The only caution for users is
to make sure no one overhears their personal key, otherwise they’ll be able to
access banking or credit card info through Alexa as well.8
What Should Marketers Do About it?
It may be time to speak up! As a first step, marketers • Partnership: Brands can integrate themselves
must assess their business’ strengths and resources into specific experiences of a partner brand.
to determine if they have the necessary digital, For example, a beauty brand sold at Target
technological, and data management capabilities can piggyback on the Target program to
to create their own voice-AI experiences. Second, integrate with Google Home shopping.
consider customer loyalty: brands with higher brand
loyalty are better positioned to attract customers to • Autonomous: A brand creates its own voice
their own voice AI offering. experience. Examples include Hilton’s Watson-
“Behind this voice activity is a complex AI
infrastructure that turns voice command into
data which can be used by these devices.
Marketers seeking to create meaningful
interactions in this environment
must first understand how people are
‘speaking’ to devices, which can be done
through keyword research. Qualifying
and quantifying this behavior will lead
to new approaches to content strategy
and structured data sets that fuel the AI
revolution powering voice interaction.”
Dave McAnally, Resolution Media, Content
Once brand and organizational strengths are enabled robot concierge Connie, or the
appraised, there are several paths to create a voice- development of brand-specific Alexa skills.
enabled marketing program:
With these models, the greater the cost, the greater
• Open model: Partner with a voice AI provider, the control over customers’ data and product
and make your brand’s data available to the AI experience.
service so that it can be accessed, vetted, and
delivered when deemed relevant for the user.
Voice AI: A Conversational Customer Journey9
65 %
Our Point of View
The growth of voice technology and its impact
on the customer journey clearly speaks for itself,
and advertisers must prepare to enter the voice-
commerce race or risk falling behind. These are
some key considerations for data-driven marketers
to prepare for the integration of voice initiatives into
their overall marketing and media strategies:
• Assess your data and marketing technology
maturity level, to ensure your organization will
be ready when time comes to ingest voice data
and deliver analytics and performance insights.
• Develop a technical roadmap to (the portion of
acquire the necessary tech capabilities
to manage the incorporation of voice
strategies into marketing and media.
Amazon Echo and
• Invest in partnerships and the required talent to Google Home
make your martech stack vision come to life.
• Engage experts to support your brand and
owners that can’t
business cultural transformation and be ready to
listen to your customers’ voice as they speak. imagine going back
As voice assistants and smart speakers continue to
evolve and become an indispensable part of consumers’
to the pre-smart
life, integrating the necessary voice technologies
into marketing strategies should be a top priority for
speaker days)
marketers in 2018. If you would like to learn more about
how you can accelerate your voice enablement plans, Geomarketing.com
please reach out to our Annalect Consulting team, at
AnnalectConsulting@annalect.com. ■
Sources
Google’s Ability to Understand Language Is Nearly eMarketer Inc., 10 Key Digital Trends for 2018, http://totalaccess.
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net/2017/5/31/15720118/google-understand-language-speech-
equivalent-humans-code-conference-mary-meeker Digital Staff, Virtual Assistant Comparison: Cortana, Google
Assistant, Siri, Alexa, Bixby — https://www.digitaltrends.com/
eMarketer, Voice-Enabled Technology StatPack: Current computing/cortana-vs-siri-vs-google-now/2/
Forecasts for Digital Assistants and Speakers. August 2017, Victoria
Petrock, https://www.emarketer.com/Report/Voice-Enabled- Forrester Research: The Rise of Intelligent Agents,
Technology-StatPack-Current-Forecasts-Digital-Assistants- September 2016
Speakers/2002120
Forrester Research: How Voice-Controlled Intelligent Agents Can
Siri Usage and Engagement Dropped Since Last Year, As Alexa and Redefine Computing, November 2013
Cortana Grew, Sarah Perez, https://techcrunch.com/2017/07/11/
siri-usage-and-engagement-dropped-since-last-year-as-alexa- Adweek, August 2017, October 2017
and-cortana-grew/New York London India
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