Voice technology has been with us for many years, but the failing of these systems prevented its adoption globally. However, the recent advances in disruptive technologies like Artificial Intelligence is enabling voice-controlled devices to go mainstream eventually. There is no denying that the technology will have a significant impact on various industries, including media and publishing, to offer personalized services.
By 2020, nearly 55% of US households will have smart devices that mean more than 70 million households will have at least one, TechCrunch reported. The total number of installed devices will top 175 million by that year.
So what exactly is voice technology and why should you consider it for publishing enterprises? Let’s dive in on.
In order to understand voice technology thoroughly, it's important to know about Voice Assistant, Voice Search, Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Machine Learning (ML).
Voice Assistant: These are the software that connects to smart devices and listens to what you say, process it and give a personalized response. They do this by using the different components of AI, such as natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning. Some of the well-known voice assistants are Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri, Samsung’s S Voice, Microsoft’s Cortana and Google Assistant.
Further, the rise of voice search on digital assistants means an increase in a longer phrase that means audiences don’t need to search with keywords, instead they can ask the questions to search engines. Here publishers/content creators need to optimize their publishing website for voice search to use the technology effectively.
Artificial Intelligence: With the advances in AI, the opportunity seem endless. In layman term, AI is the simulation of human intelligence processes by computer systems. These processes include learning, reasoning, self-correction, speech recognition, machine vision and others. Here, Machine Learning (ML) - an application of AI - enables systems to automatically learn and improve from experience.
So why voice technology for the publishing companies
Voice technology is the changing the way people search the internet for information. A recent survey by Google revealed that nearly 48% of users who own a voice-activated speaker prefers to receive personalized information from recognized brands to make their work and lives easier.
The numbers mentioned above clear that voice technology is soon going to be a new frontier for the publishing industry. And there is no better time to start integrating this technology into your website.
Leveraging the platform
There are two ways the publishing industry can leverage voice technology to the fullest. First, the content should be provided as a news feed through the smart devices using an RSS or XML feed. Second, voice can be used to transform the internal search engines, database products, and mobile applications. The voice-driven search will also enhance search experiences for the audience.
Initiatives by Drupal community around Voice enabled functionality
Drupal VoiceCommander module allows users to navigate the entire menu system of a Drupal website, using the Web Speech API. By implementing this module, users can easily navigate the site without using a mouse, use voice commands on mobile devices and selects their own list of commands from custom menus. Additionally, using Drupal voice search module, you can seamlessly add speech recognition to your web pages to search for content.
It's clear that voice technology is the new frontier and publishing industry needs to experiment with voice. There is no denying that media and publishing companies are constantly trying to ensure enhanced and personalized user experience. However, such work requires a dedicated IT team to monitor the developments and work accordingly.
Give a shout out to Valuebound if you would like to see how we can help you to understand the business side of it.
