Experiences: Voice User Interfaces

In this article, I’ll focus on some technological innovations in voice user interfaces (VUIs). What is a voice user interface, or VUI? VUIs employ speech-recognition technology that enables users to communicate via a computer, smartphone, smart speaker, or other device by using voice commands.

Some examples of VUIs include products such as Apple’s Siri, Amazon’s Alexa, Google’s Assistant, and Microsoft’s Cortana. Voice technology is different from any other method of interaction because it relies on the user’s voice commands instead of traditional modes of communication.

How Do Voice User Interfaces Work?

Since VUIs are a relatively recent innovation in user-interface (UI) design, they incorporate many recent technological advancements, including artificial-intelligence (AI) technologies such as speech synthesis and automatic speech recognition. Once the user has adopted a VUI or installed it on a device, it can function successfully within many applications. Read More

What will be the voice-technology winner of tomorrow—voice-first or multimodal user interfaces? Those working in the voice user-experience sector are avidly discussing this hot topic—and UX researchers, UX designers, developers, marketers, and entrepreneurs may find it of interest as well.

In this article, I’ll define the terms voice first and multimodal, using current products as examples, explore some use cases and rationales for different types of user interfaces, consider contemporary research, and conceptualize the future of voice user interfaces. Should you keep your product’s visual features? Yes, because, ultimately, voice-enabled, multimodal user interfaces will be the preferred user experience. Read More

Both Web and mobile innovations are progressing at an incredible rate, making any lack in these essential technologies a critical issue for any company. As long as a decade ago, a poorly optimized Web site could lead to your losing traffic and revenues. Today, businesses cannot afford to ignore technology trends. Don’t let your business fall behind the technology curve.

Creating voice user interfaces (VUIs) for mobile apps is the hottest trend right now—and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. Voice is a natural user interface. Some leading brands have already boosted awareness of their mobile apps and increased customer engagement by adding voice capabilities that are powered by existing VUI platforms. For example, Snapchat has launched an in-app voice assistant that is based on SoundHound, which lets users trigger filters with voice commands, immediately improving user engagement and loyalty. Pretty soon, users won’t just appreciate the greater functionality and friendliness of a voice-powered mobile app, they’ll expect it. Read More