When it comes to the world of voice technology, there are five reasons that this is a perfect time to be bullish on the space. Through examples, we will explore those reasons in order to demonstrate the importance of paying attention to voice both today and in the future. The 5 key reasons to pay attention are as follows and in no particular order of importance: Efficiency, Platform Agnostic, Productivity, Accessibility, Infrastructure.
First, consider the increased Efficiency enabled by voice technology. To illustrate this point, I am going to refer to the most popular use cases that employ this voice technology through smart speakers. As seen in the graph from Voicebot.ai, the top five use cases for smart speakers are answering questions, access to music, info on the weather, or setting an alarm or timer. When studying each of these use cases, it is readily apparent that efficiency is the main benefit enjoyed by the end consumer. On top of this, they are not only efficient use cases but also have very clear value propositions to go along with them. As the voice industry continues to evolve and culture as a whole becomes more comfortable with voice technology being a part of our daily lives, we can increase in efficiency – both at home and at work – progress and continue to span across many different products that we use in our day to day lives.
Another point is that voice is Platform Agnostic. Simply put, this means that this technology is not constrained to one device, unlike a smartphone or computer. Both of these examples have technological constraints that are native to the devices themselves. With voice, the technology has the capability to be present anywhere and everywhere. If you look at the tech stack of your computer, you probably already have access to some sort of voice assistant technology. If you pull out your smartphone, you are likely aware of voice through the likes of Siri, Alexa or Google Assistant. The reality is that with the rise of the Internet of Things – alongside our already smart devices like phones, computers, tvs, and wearable tech – we are beginning to see voice technology come to other devices as well. Through various devices, we even have access to voice in our cars. This is a massive driver in the widespread adoption of voice, but it doesn’t stop there. You may soon see voice tech in your microwave, glasses, rings, appliances, light bulbs, thermostats, internet routers and really any and all electronic devices we see around us! The point is that voice is much larger than just the smart speaker that you may have come to know – it is the conjunction of all devices around us and the vast and emerging possibilities for new products that go along with those modalities.
The next key thing to highlight is voice technology’s impact on Productivity. When it comes to productivity, I am extremely confident in the continued proliferation of audio and a foregone conclusion of a future ecosystem built on products like the popular Apple Airpods. The term “productivity,” refers to the ability to better achieve whatever your task may be – whether that is work, cooking a meal or a multitude of other things – and still have the ability to simultaneously consume content or access voice technology. The catch is that while before this relationship with audio content was a one way street (previously only consumption) we are now able to interact and engage with our content through progressive voice technology. It is no surprise that audio content has been on a tear for the last few years whether it be music, podcasts, audio books or other forms of audio content. It has gone from being slightly taboo to wear iPod headphones to it now being commonplace in both the workplace and everyday life. I believe this will only continue to expand as we see the headphones themselves (commonly referred to as hearables) allow for pass through listening touted to be even clearer than the naked ear, as well as the price of the tech coming down as seen with the Alexa Buds featuring nearly the same tech as Apple Airpods but at a fraction of the cost. However, it is all these features above combined with the goal of increased efficiency that we as humans now value to such a high degree that enhances my own focus on productivity with audio/voice. With more people consuming audio content and using these devices also comes the opportunity for completely new products and content to be created. Today, an employee can easily consume their content of choice alongside their work; having the ability to interact with content or any services that may be built on top of this existing technology will only continue to make us more productive. To illustrate this, ask yourself how much easier and quickly you obtain information pre vs post smartphone. You always have had access to the same information. Previously, you had to sit at your desk and do a Google search on the desktop or, prior to that, pull out an encyclopedia to access information. With your smartphone, the ability to be more productive and access that info more quickly has an impact so large that it is hard to quantify. This same paradigm of productivity of pre vs post smartphone is a natural extension that comes along with voice technology.
The fourth point I mentioned is Accessibility. Technology has not always been the easiest thing to understand. Go back only a few decades, and computers were only more thoroughly understood by the most specialized of teachers and innovators. The idea of a personal computer that everyone could use and understand was laughable to many. Now, to think of any alternative is itself laughable; the only catch is that it took decades for people to fully comprehend and accept. Voice is really accessible to anyone who has the ability to speak and hear – young or old, literate or not – and most languages and dialects (today). Again, the best way to illustrate this is to look at examples. If you have or know someone with a child in the house as well as a voice enabled device, you are likely very aware of their comfort and ease with which they utilize voice and voice assistants. We are noticing that this technology being ingrained from such a young age eventually becomes second nature to our youth, as has been our own pattern with technological development and its adoption in the past. This in and of itself is compelling, but this technology is also accessible to elderly people who may have not always been the direct beneficiaries of new technologies. Since the main barrier to using voice tech is the ability to speak, it is inherently useful and empowering to older generations as well and we have seen these benefits in the real world in nursing homes. The value here is not only logistical in nature (such as medication reminders or access to staff); voice provides the unique presence of a companion for more elderly populations – especially those unable to live independently. This accessibility by nature widens the potential user base, which is why this is a main reason to pay attention to the space. Accessibility is a key driver for why the adoption of voice has accelerated faster than any technology before it.
The final key component to note is the impact of the infrastructure that comes with voice. Above, we explored the Platform Agnostic nature of voice and all of the different devices that currently have/will be voice enabled in the future. The infrastructure itself is also extremely necessary to highlight because the companies behind these aforementioned devices and uses are “laying the pipes” for all future applications and experiences (ex. Apple introducing voice to a more mainstream audience through the millions of iPhones back in the early 2010’s with Siri). Now, when people think of voice, it is almost a foregone conclusion that one would assume Alexa and other smart speakers have exploded not just in the US, but across the world – and it doesn’t stop there. We also see companies like Samsung who dominate smart TV’s and appliances or Microsoft who dominates the enterprise. Each one of these companies have demonstrated their commitment to and investment in voice. It would be one thing if some small company was going to try and pull off voice enabling all the devices around us, but we are talking about some of the strongest and most valuable companies in the world that are driving this infrastructure. That is something to pay attention to.
Considering these different points and use cases across voice helps exemplify why so many enterprises, tech companies, entrepreneurs and mainstream consumers are paying attention to the industry’s advancement. All of these things together render voice technology an exciting space with opportunities for innovation that will continue to grow.
Photo credit: Photo by Hans Eiskonen
