Speech recognition, text-to-speech, speaker verification, voice search, voice assistants, and other speech technologies are becoming increasingly familiar to users through their wide adoption on mobile phones, with Apple’s Siri on iPhones given it the visibility and credibility it deserves as a true user interface innovation. Opportunities within the mobile space are growing as the smartphone moves toward becoming a ubiquitous personal assistant. The voice channel on basic phones can also move toward a voice assistant model by network-based speech recognition, particularly in developing countries.
And, in a largely unappreciated opportunity, companies can take advantage of this trend to increase the automation and functionality of customer service. In addition, marketing and sales through voice interaction will grow in importance. The efficiencies and pricing of cloud computing also help make using speech technology cheaper and easier.
The Mobile Voice Conference was the first to focus on the opportunities created by these trends. The conference draws top speakers and involved attendees, with unparalleled networking.