Over half of all US homes will own a voice recognition speaker by 2022.
Voice recognition tech is responsible for 50% of all online searches. Almost 40 million Americans have purchased smart technology and 43% use a smart speaker to shop.
Have you wondered how innovative technology like Amazon Alexa works?
Read on to learn how your voice gets translated into computer code. Discover how Alexa and other smart home devices listen to your commands. And see why websites should optimize their pages for voice recognition SEO to improve sales.
Voice recognition enables a machine or computer app to receive and interpret spoken directions.
This innovative technology took shape as far back as the 1950s. The ‘Audrey’ system developed by Bell Laboratories recognized one-digit words. Ten years later, IBM created ‘Shoebox’ that responded to sixteen English words.
By the early 2000s, speech recognition tech could understand thousands of words with 80% accuracy. Yet, it wasn’t until Apple launched Siri in 2010 that voice command usage became a global phenomenon.
All modern mobile phones and operating systems contain voice recognition apps.
Android’s ‘Hey Google’ digital assistant activates through a simple wake-up direction. Apple uses Siri while Microsoft has Cortana. Samsung created Bixby as an alternative to Google Assistant.
One company has fully embraced this best smart home technology, selling millions of units worldwide.
Alexa is Amazon’s digital voice recognition assistant and comes on a range of devices including:
Amazon sold 53.6 million Echo units in 2020. Owners use them to set timers, add items to their shopping list, and even make a marriage proposal! But how does the technology work?
Computers work in a digital world, i.e. zeroes and ones.
A voice produces analog audio which is incompatible with digital. The goal with all voice recognition software is to convert from analog to digital, understand the request, then reply in a meaningful way. That starts with a ‘wake word’.
A wake word or phrase activates Alexa.
The technology records your voice and listens for specific acoustic patterns. It’s called ‘keyword spotting’. It also deciphers the phrases that you say and creates an action based on what you want to do.
Amazon has a huge database of keywords that tie with specific actions like playing a song. Natural Language Processing (NLP) recognizes human speech and converts it into a searchable form. Artificial Intelligence also learns what you mean over time.
Google Search uses a similar process.
It takes the verbal query and converts it into meaningful results. It also reviews its performance and tweaks things to become better. Website owners looking to improve their SEO rankings should read more info here.
Mobile voice app integration is an ongoing trend and will remain popular as the tech evolves.
Chatbots and virtual assistants pop up in all forms of life like healthcare. Deep learning will improve results and deeper integration will tie our voice with technology.
Voice recognition will continue to evolve and drive technology into the near future.
A third of all Americans use voice search features. The tech is now more popular than typing. Websites that ignore voice for SEO will drop down the rankings. Businesses that cater to speech searches will see a rise in sales.
Read more about smart technology in the marketing industry in our blog.