Each week the team at RAIN curates and shares the most important news on voice culled from leading publications in the technology and innovation space. From new platform features to tech company developments and acquisitions, we take a broad view to help you stay informed. If you’re looking for cutting edge insight on conversational AI, this is the podcast briefing for you.
In 2020, Siri was the second most popular voice assistant behind Google Assistant, with over 500 million users (https://techcrunch.com/2020/07/29/voice-tech-in-2020/) (compared to Google Assistant’s 1+ billion users). While its vast presence on mobile devices has given Siri a boost, the popular assistant has fallen short in meeting users’ expectations. Apple has tried to revitalize the assistant through the latest iOS 15 update (https://9to5mac.com/2021/09/22/roundup-siri-ios-15-everything-new/), third-party product integrations (https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/7/22523045/apple-wwdc-siri-third-party-devices-ecobee-watch-tvos-tv), and new Apple hardware (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-04-12/apple-working-on-combined-tv-box-speaker-to-revive-home-efforts), but Siri’s functionality has remained relatively stagnant in the last few years when compared to Google Assistant. From sending texts to asking simple questions, there haven’t been monumental updates in what Siri can do for users. October 2021 now marks Siri’s 10-year anniversary of its initial launch — below, The Verge examines why Siri hasn’t lived up to the hype.
28 Sept 2021
Front Seat Shopping
The car is a hub of on-the-go activity — from taking and making calls to searching directions, drivers have their hands full (literally). As a result, voice assistants have become helpful tools by providing hands-free assistance. One use case emerging quickly is voice commerce in the car. In-vehicle payments are expected to reach $86 billion (https://www.juniperresearch.com/press/in-vehicle-payments-spend-to-exceed-86-billion) in 2025, and 70% of consumers (https://securecdn.pymnts.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/How-We-Will-Pay-Commuters-And-Connected-Commerce.pdf) who commute to work are very or extremely interested in new connected commerce experiences. Companies are already tapping into this growing opportunity, especially for gas stations. ExxonMobil (https://www.exxon.com/en/amazon-alexa-pay-for-gas) and 7-Eleven (https://www.paymentsdive.com/ex/mpt/news/7-eleven-pilots-siri-voice-commands-for-contactless-fuel-2/?) have built payment experiences on Alexa and Siri, respectively, and Cerence partnered with Ryd Pay (https://www.cerence.com/news-releases/news-release-details/cerence-adds-ryd-pay-cerence-pay-partner-ecosystem-enable-secure) in Europe for payments via Cerence’s in-car systems. This week, Google’s new features for Android Auto include fuel payments at select stations. While these activations focus on fueling, there is vast opportunity for retailers (https://rain.agency/raindrops/next-line-voice-tech-poised-transform-retail-know) like grocery stores to think about how voice can support buy-online-pickup-in-store behaviors.
21 Sept 2021
Healthcare’s Next Remedy
Voice technology’s deep roots in healthcare are only strengthening as companies and organizations discover the operational efficiencies that voice can drive. Early movers in the healthcare world like Saykara, Suki, and Robin Healthcare got their start building custom voice assistants for healthcare professionals to input and retrieve patient data without using their hands or breaking focus from their patients. Now, mainstream assistants are being leveraged in specific healthcare settings. Bayer built its voice assistant AMI to provide doctors with information on prescription drugs. In this week’s newsletter, Houston Methodist Hospital is bringing Alexa into exam and operating rooms. As the healthcare industry continues to introduce new technologies to adapt to a digital-centered world, voice AI is one of the tools that practitioners are gravitating toward.
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