Virtual assistants

The growth of virtual assistants has been strong in the last few years. According to Consumer Intelligence Research Partners, there were five million virtual assistants on the market in 2016, all belonging to Amazon. During 2017, Google and Amazon sold 27 million devices. Apple is up and coming and Facebook is said to be working on a smart screen with voice functions. It is obvious that companies that want to reach people in the future will need to learn basic voice development. How can we help you?

Artificial intelligence in everyday life

We are in a new era, where artificial intelligence has gone from being science fiction to being part of everyday life. Customer requirements are increasing exponentially. They are expecting companies to be available round the clock, on a wide range of digital platforms, and with seamless user interfaces. The trend is pointing clearly in one direction: users like to interact with artificial intelligence, whether by chat or using voice technology.

Gartner predicts that artificial intelligence will be handling as much as 95% of all customer dialogues by 2025, and this is desired by both customers and companies.

Increased complexity requires greater resources

The fast development of new expectations among customers means that many companies are struggling to stay relevant and retain their position in a digital world with increased complexity. Delivering a strong customer dialogue is the basis for building close relationships, something that has become more and more important in creating a successful organization.

The solution is often to hire more people, which is often both expensive and not scalable.

Virtual assistants change the playing field

How we interact with technology is changing dramatically. Writing on a PC or phone is neither fast nor intuitive. However, using our voice is one of the most natural things that we do. When we talk, we use to little cognitive capacity that we have more than enough left to do other things, like cook, load or unload a dishwasher, or drive a car. Digital assistants that listen to what we do and help us order goods, send messages, or turn on some music – they are the future.

Among the tools that have become available in recent years are virtual assistants like Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. According to Unilever’s CFO, Graeme Pitkethly, this is the most revolutionary technology ever for consumer-focused companies. But by using the technology in the right way, companies can move so close to their customers that the customer center is actually inside their homes.

Google and Amazon have become well-established on markets like the USA, the UK, and Germany, where services like shopping, ordering food, and booking tables at restaurants have become common. These players are now looking to the Nordic region and Google Assistant was launched with Norwegian voice support in the fall of 2018. The altered playing field that the technology entails is hard to ignore, and it is time for companies to learn more about the technology and its future applications.

Henrik Serlow

Head of Intelligent Automation