Bolstering its enterprise applications with intelligent voice interfaces SUNNYVALE, CA 94582, USA, March 29, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ — 

Alan AI, a Silicon Valley company enabling the next generation of voice interfaces for Enterprise Apps, has announced a strategic partnership with Ramco Systems¹, a leading global cloud enterprise software provider, to embed intelligent voice interfaces for its enterprise offerings. In its initial stages of partnership, the organizations will primarily focus on building business use cases for the Aviation, Aerospace & Defense sector, followed by use cases for other industry verticals.

Ramco Systems offers an integrated and smart platform engineered to develop robust and scalable solutions, thereby offering a competitive edge to its end users. By embedding Alan AI’s voice interface, Ramco’s customers will be able to interact with their applications with natural human language and receive intelligent responses for daily workflows. Features such as accuracy of understanding spoken language, synchronization of voice with existing graphical interfaces, and a hands-free app experience will truly delight the user- from the very first interaction. Voice Assistant will drive smoother app onboarding, higher user engagement and scale adoption and loyalty.

Commenting on the partnership, Ramesh Sivasubramanian, Vice-President – Technology & Innovation, Ramco Systems, said, “Voice recognition is a maturing technology and has been witnessing huge adoption socially, in our day-to-day personal lives. However, its importance in enterprise software has been a real breakthrough and a result of multitudinous innovations. We are excited to enable clients with this voice user interface along with Alan AI, thereby ensuring a futuristic digital enterprise”.

“We are so excited to be able to help support Ramco’s applications and empower their customers with intelligent voice interfaces. Our advanced Voice AI Platform enables enterprises to deploy and manage intelligent and contextual voice interfaces for their Applications in days, not months/ years” said Blake Wheale, Chief Revenue Officer, Alan AI. “This partnership is a great testament of how voice can support a vision of a hands free, productive and safe environment for humans”.
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If you’ve been trying hard to boost your revenue and enhance the usability of ecommerce apps, voice assistants are here to help you out.

Before we understand how voice assistants shape the ecommerce industry — what is voice commerce and how is it related to voice assistants?

What is Voice Commerce?

Voice commerce is the act of employing voice recognition technology to enable users to interact with ecommerce websites and applications to search, get support, and purchase products just by using their voice. Voice commerce is growing fast, and is expected to reach 8 billion devices by 2023, and is currently at 1.5 billion devices now, according to Juniper Research. So if you’ve been thinking about adding a voice assistant to your ecommerce store, now is the perfect time. You’re not too late!

What’s more, the general market awareness related to voice technology is particularly high. According to a report by PwC, only 10% of surveyed respondents were unaware of voice-enabled devices and products. On the other hand, 90% of the aware respondents had used a voice assistant. Widespread adoption of voice assistants is being driven by younger consumers and households.

That said, businesses are reaping the benefits from the mainstream adoption of voice assistants in various ways. 

How Voice Assistants Drive Business Outcomes

Business Cost Savings

If you believe that implementing voice assistants in your ecommerce store is going to be a hefty expenditure, you might need to reconsider your views. Yes, you may need to invest a bigger amount upfront, but considering the gains it brings a few years down the line – the amount you are investing is almost nothing. 

As a matter of fact, the return on investment for voice assistants in apps is considerably huge. First, there are low maintenance costs. The easiest route is to go for a third-party stand-alone voice assistant. You need to pay them on a subscription basis, and all the maintenance is their headache. 

Secondly, as voice assistants are going mainstream, they attract better leads and close more sales. Users get to shop even when they are out somewhere – driving or meeting someone. They only need to instruct the voice assistant to place an order for XYZ, and that’s all – no scrolling, browsing, and tapping required. 

This pretty much explains why consumer spending via voice assistants will reach 18% by 2022. 

Higher Customer Satisfaction

Believe us when we say that voice assistants make way for better customer satisfaction. Consumers get personalized attention and real-time responses, just the same way they would if they were to shop in a brick-and-mortar store. All this in the comfort of their home.

A voice assistant reduces the time to buy considerably. According to Bing, searching with your voice is about 3.7 times faster than typing. Google has the same views as well. It revealed that 70% of searches that happen on Google Assistant are in natural language.

What’s more, a voice assistant not only helps you serve a better user experience, but you also get your hands on critical data points that can be further used to enhance your services. Considering that 40% of adults use voice search once daily, it’s easy to see what kind of data you can gather by adding a voice assistant to your ecommerce store. 

Savings On Support Costs

Having a voice assistant means having a customer service team 24/7. A voice assistant provides automated customer support to your users, and with less costs. They can take care of most of their queries, thus delivering a higher response time and speeding up the resolution time. 

This is why 93% of consumers are satisfied with the services provided by their voice assistants. Further, around 50% of consumers feel organized, 45% feel informed, and 37% feel happy with the help of these voice assistants. 

Conclusion

Voice assistants are a necessity to stay ahead of the competition and deliver a best in class user experience. A voice assistant not only helps you bring down costs, but it also enhances customer satisfaction and improves the performance of your customer support team.

Go ahead, and add a voice assistant to your app. How, you ask? Alan AI is here to help. Alan is a conversational voice AI platform that simplifies the entire process of adding a voice assistant to your application. Contact us to learn more about our services and how we could help you realize your goals. 

Have you ever wanted to develop voice-enabled mobile or web applications?
Well, You’re in the right place!

Alan AI is hosting its first virtual hackathon about Voice AI and inviting developers worldwide to take part! With the Voice AI Hackathon, we are challenging developers (as individuals or teams of 3) to integrate a voice assistant to their new or existing applications or other open-source apps through our conversational voice platform. All you need is basic JavaScript knowledge and the determination to win the TOP PRIZE of $500!

Participants can choose to voice-embed any application — from gaming, social networking, food delivery, or any other industry — the opportunities are endless.

Project submissions are due on July 15, 2020 at 11:59 PM (PST) which can be submitted with a website link, App Store/Play Store link or photo proof of app in the process of being published to App Store/Play Store. Participants will have Alan developers and mentors ready to assist with any questions or concerns throughout your progress. The top three submissions will win a cash prizes and be featured on our Alan platforms.

Ready to sign up? Fill out our sign up form 

Learn more about the hackathon on our official Hackathon Website 

We are excited to see what you build with the Alan Platform!

Forward-looking businesses are starting to explore the possibilities of introducing voice control into their applications. Therefore, we are seeing a noticeable increase in Android apps with voice-operated software that provide a hands-free experience.

We’ve gathered some of the most popular and useful hands-free apps for Android to see what they can offer and why other businesses should be heading in that direction as well.

The term “hands-free” refers to equipment or software that requires limited or no use of hands. One of the most popular ways to access controls for hands-free apps is through voice. The main goal is to make sure all users can use features within the app – regardless of their ability to physically operate the device.

Voice is being integrated into all kinds of devices, and it’s reshaping the usual state of things. Here are a few reasons why making your application hands-free is a good idea, business-wise and in general:

• Convenience – Hands-free apps can be used anywhere: while driving, doing chores around the house, carrying things, or when you’re simply far away from the device.
• Accessibility – These apps can be operated by people with limited hand mobility, those who are visually impaired, and other groups in need of assistive technology.
• Time efficiency – In many situations, making a quick call takes less time than typing a lengthy message and waiting for a response. The same principle applies to voice control; it requires no clicks, no typing, or any other time-consuming actions. 
• Simplicity – Users don’t have to be familiar with the interface to handle it. Unlike traditional apps, you hardly need any computer literacy or technical skills.
• Multi-use – Voice control isn’t strictly tied to one function. This kind of software is incredibly versatile in terms of potential applications.

Hands-free technology is particularly useful in countries where it’s illegal to use a handheld mobile phone when you drive. These laws have been adopted in many jurisdictions around the world, which gave developers another incentive to develop the technology.

The market of hands-free applications is an interesting space right now. Let’s look at the best offerings available in the Play Store for Android users.

1. Google Assistant

Google Assistant is considered an undisputed champion of personal assistant apps developed for Android. Although it may not work on every device, the coverage is extensive. In addition to running the app on your phone, you can also integrate with smart devices such as Philips Hue lights.

The assistant can run basic functions like making calls, sending texts, emails, setting alarms and reminders, etc. On top of that, you can look up weather reports and news updates, send web searches, and play music. The range of features is constantly getting updated and expanded.

The company states the app was originally designed for people with disabilities and conditions like Parkinson’s and multiple sclerosis. However, it should come in useful for anyone who’s multitasking or has their hands full. To activate Google Assistant, users need to say “OK Google,” and it will be all ears.

2. Amazon Alexa

Amazon Alexa has pushed the trend of endless integration with many emerging smart home devices to the forefront. Contrary to popular belief, this service runs not only on Amazon Echo but also on mobile devices. 

Alexa for Android is mostly used to control integrated devices. But the functionality also supports web searches, playing music, and even ordering deliveries. If you want to launch the hands-free app, say “Alexa” and it will be ready to hear commands whether the screen is on or off. 

The device restrictions are by far the biggest downside of Amazon Alexa. So far, there is a limited number of mobile phones supporting this system. However, in terms of its abilities and intelligence, it rightly occupies the top of the list.

3. Bixby

Bixby is a relatively new addition, but it is already among the best. It’s important to mention that it’s only compatible with Samsung devices. The company may be looking into other platforms, but at this point, it only runs on devices and appliances connected to Samsung’s proprietary hub.

The app can accomplish a variety of tasks – from sending text messages and responding to basic questions to activating other applications in the device (dialer, settings menus, camera app, contacts list, and gallery). 

One of the greatest benefits of Bixby is that it adapts to the user’s voice and manner of speaking. From the get-go, it can understand different request variations like “Show me today’s weather,” “What’s the weather like?” or “What’s the forecast for today?” and it only gets smarter with time.

4. Dragon

Powered by Nuance, which is the technology behind Siri, Dragon Mobile has been in operation for many years. Essential functionality includes dictating emails, checking traffic and weather, sharing your location, and a lot more. 

There are also many customizable features aimed at simplifying how you live, work, and spend leisure time – all while minimizing touch-based interactions. Users can add their unique and personalized Nuance Voiceprint. Then, voice biometrics will only let a designated user talk and ask questions.

You can also set your own wake-up word. Unlike other services, this one gives you options to launch it with “Hi, Dragon”, “What’s up,” or anything else you like. The company is working on adding languages other than English, as well as support for the international market. 

5. Hound

While the apps described above cover the most widely used basic functionalities, Hound takes a step further. Along with doing simple searches, it can accomplish advanced tasks such as hotel booking, a sing/hum music search, looking up stocks, or even calculating a mortgage. On a lighter side, you can play interactive games like Hangman. 

The company launched partnerships with Yelp and Uber to make features like getting restaurant information and hailing a ride more precise. Another interesting feature is that it can translate whole sentences practically in real-time. 

This speech-based app is only available for United States residents. However, the process of getting the app out of beta and ready for public consumption was pretty quick, so we may see some international development. Also, there are still occasional bugs within the app. 

6. Robin

Robin has been around for a while as one of the original “Siri alternatives”. Like its counterparts, the app supports calling, sending messages, and providing the latest information on the weather, news, and more. However, the functionality still needs some work.

Intentionally or not, a lot of features available on Robin are related to car use. For example, it offers GPS navigation, gives live traffic updates, and shows the prices for gas directly on the map. You can even specify what kind of gas you need, and it will guide towards the closest station.  

To call the app into action, you can tap on the microphone button, say “Robin,” or just wave hello twice in front of your phone (which is quite a unique innovation).

7. AIVC

AIVC stands for Artificial Intelligent Voice Control. It comes in two versions: free, which contains a number of ads, and Pro. The former option covers basic functionality, whereas the Pro one provides some appealing features like TV-Receiver control, wake up mode, and others. You can control devices that are accessible over a web interface with your own preset commands.

As far as voice commands go, the app gives you the option to define specific phrases to invoke a certain action. This is done to minimize the risk of the app not understanding what you want.

AIVC performs actions on other websites and services so you can compose emails, make Facebook posts, or move over to a navigation app.

8. DataBot

DataBot is one of the simpler Android Personal assistants. You can play around with it, ask for jokes and riddles, or do other goofy stuff, but it can actually be pretty useful for various tasks. You can ask the bot to make searches online, schedule events, and make calls by just using your voice.  

It is a cross-platform application so you can sync it across all your devices: smartphones, tablets, and laptops. That way, you get a coherent, all-around hands-free experience. Also, DataBot gains experience while you’re using it. 

A slight inconvenience that DataBot has is that it comes with ads and in-app purchases. If you aren’t bothered by that, it should be a good addition to your daily routine.

9. Car Dashdroid

Car Dashdroid includes everything you could possibly need while driving – navigation, music, contacts, messages, voice commands, and more. It is also integrated with popular messaging apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, and Facebook Messenger.

What makes this app stand out as a specifically car-oriented solution is that it comes with a compass, speedometer, and plenty of other features. 

There are also customization blocks that help you arrange all tasks based on their priority. For example, if you mostly use the app for navigation, you can put it at the top. Then, you can place music control below navigation, and the list of frequently contacted people at the bottom. 

10. Drivemode

Drivemode is a simple app meant to assist users while they’re driving. Users can select from their preferred navigation app (for example, Google Maps, Waze, and HERE Maps). You can also input favorite destinations (such as home, work, and so on), play music from multiple supported apps, and access messages in a low-distraction “driving mode” overlay with audio prompts. 

Even though it’s not entirely hands-free, there is a function that presents shortcuts that you can access through tapping or swiping. Drivemode can also be integrated with Google Assistant, so the functionality can potentially be extended way beyond driving assistance.

Integrating a Hands-Free Experience with Alan

Voice AI offers immense benefits for businesses – from completing tasks more quickly to offering better user experience with verbal communication. You can add unique voice conversations, no matter the industry you’re in. The Alan platform allows you to implement hands-free, interactive functionality in your existing application with ease.