VUX World

Translating the recent happenings in voice news into insights and recommendations for designers, developers and brands. As ever, lots has been occurring recently. In this episode of the rundown, we discuss:The state of voice assistants by Adobe and how we're seeing increased usage in the 'third category'. That is, people are using more in-depth functionality on their voice assistants. That opens doors for richer voice experiences and suggests that customers can handle more complex, transactional interactions.The picture of voice shopping - thanks to Charlie Cadburyfor sharing - and how voice is being used, not just for making transactions, but throughout the purchase journey and after sales as well. This looks at voice commerce in a more broader setting and shows that there's opportunities for brands in and around the shopping experience, not just at the transactional end.Alexa for business room booking and whether the productivity gain will be worth climbing into bed with Amazon.Skill to skill connections and the potential for joining together voice experiences. Whether that'll take-off and whether there'll be opportunities for paid referrals within skills.AVS for Set-Top-Boxes which will allow set-top-box manufacturers to add Alexa to their devices. Another nod to a multi-modal future.Google Home hub launches without a camera and is yet another sign and the screen and voice will play a joint role in the home.Google rolls out payments for Assistant that lets brands and developers offer digital goods for sale on a one time or subscription basis. Monetisation is creeping upon us and with that comes opportunities for those who can find the right voice experience that's worth paying for.Google Sign-in for Assistant which lets customers sign in to third party actions via their Google account. This is the voice equivalent of the 'sign in with Google' or 'sign in with Facebook' that we see on websites and is a great friction-stripping step for voice.Facebook announce Portal and whether it'll ever catch on.If you have a news story you'd like us to cover in the next episode of the Rundown, or if you have a question you'd like Kane and Dustin to answer, hit us up on Twitter, Instagramor get in touch. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Pulse Labs founders, Abhishek Suthan and Dylan Zwick share their advice on VUI design best practice that they've learned from conducting voice first usability testing with over 120 brands.Where to listenApple podcastsSpotifyYouTubeCastBoxSpreakerTuneInBreakerStitcherPlayerFMiHeartRadioThe search for VUI design best practiceIn web design, there are standards. Common design patterns and best practice that you'll find on most websites and apps.The burger menu, call to action buttons, a search bar at the top of the page. These have all been tried and tested and are par for the course on most websites.In voice, that best practice is still to be worked out. And today's guests have begun to uncover it.Pulse Labs is a voice first usability testing company. They conduct global remote user research by testing voice experiences for brands. Think of it almost like usertesting.com, but specifically for voice.After working with over 120 brands, the founders; Abhishek Suthan and Dylan Zwick, have stumbled upon some of the most common mistakes that designers and developers make in their Google Assistant Actions and Alexa Skills.Through design iterations and further testing, they've worked out what some of that best practice looks like.In this episodeOver the course of this episode, we hear from Abhishek and Dylan about some of the most common mistakes designers make when it comes to voice user experience design.We discuss how these issues can be fixed, as well as further best practice when designing for voice, including:How to architect your voice app and design flat menusHow to handle errors and recover from failureFraming experiences and handling expectationsWhen to apply confirmations and when to make assumptionsAnd a whole host moreThis episode is one to listen to again and again. No doubt the standards will change as and when the tech advances and usage grows, but for now, this is probably the best start there is in defining best practice in voice.LinksVisit the Pulse Labs websiteEmail Dylan ZwickFollow Pulse Labs on TwitterFollow Dylan on TwitterFollow Pulse Labs on FacebookFollow Pulse Labs on LinkedIn  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we take a deep dive into voice first social networks and messaging, as we explore whether these platforms are poised for success or doomed to fail. We also discuss some of the challenges in building a voice first product, including the limitations of the tech stack and how VUI design is a way of compensating for this.To take us through the world of voice first social, we're joined by Daniel Gonzalez, co-founder of voice first messaging platform, SoundBite.Where to listenApple podcastsSpotifyYouTubeCastBoxSpreakerTuneInBreakerStitcherPlayerFMiHeartRadioIn this episode, we discuss:The current state of play in social voice, how most voice first social platforms are using an old social media model and how SoundBite differs.Design challenges in designing social voice platforms, multi modal implications and perfecting a narrow use-case.Details of the inherent technology challenges built into today's voice assistants and how to compensate for it with VUI design.The future of the voice assistant technology landscape and how SoundBite are working towards it, including using Digital Signal Processing (DSP) and acoustic modelling instead of Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) and Natural Language Processing (NLP).LinksSoundBite websiteFollow Daniel on TwitterEmail Daniel Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Voice first technology has the potential to transform organisations. Join Dustin and I as we dig into how voice is being used to create efficiencies within businesses with Silver founder, Shawn Kanungo.Silver, an agency based in Canada, is helping organisations use voice to streamline business processes, access line of business systems and improve productivity. We speak to the founder, ex-Deloitte digital transformation guru and speaker, Shawn Kanungo, to find out how it's done.In this episode, we discuss:How voice plus other exponential technologies will disrupt every industry & government agenciesWhat voice looks like when it's combined with robotic process automation (RPA) and moreWhat does voice mean for a digital transformation strategy for an enterprise?How Silver take a human-centered approach to voice by doing ethnographic researchOrganisational culture and whether workers are ready for enterprise level voiceThe future of voice and whether we'll see a billion dollar company built on a voice platformWhere to listenApple podcastsSpotifyYouTubeCastBoxSpreakerTuneInBreakerStitcherPlayerFMiHeartRadioLinkshttps://silverdrip.comhttps://www.shawnkanungo.com/Silver on InstagramSilver on TwitterSilver on Facebook Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's been a busy few weeks with both of the top two voice assistant platforms announcing new devices and software improvements, but what does it all mean for brands, designers and developers?Google Home Mini becomes top selling smart speakerThat's right, the Google Home Mini smart speaker outsold all other smart speakers in Q2.Google's intense advertising over the summer months looks like it could be starting to pay off. It still isn't the market leader. Amazon still holds that spot, for now.Takeaway:At the beginning of this year, Google Assistant was a nice-to-have feature in your voice strategy. Google's progress over the summer and the recent sales of the Google Home Mini now mean that obtaining a presence on Google Assistant is unavoidable for brands looking to make serious play in this space.We discuss whether you should use a tool like Jovo for developing cross-platform voice experiencesor whether you should build natively.Dustin's pro tip:If you need access to new feature updates as and when they're released, you should build natively. If you're happy to wait, use something like Jovo.Google rumoured to be launching the Google Home HubIt's rumoured that Google will be releasing a smart display to rival the Amazon Echo Show.In the podcast, we said that this will go on sale in October. That's not the case. The actual sale date hasn't been announced yet.Takeaway:With more voice assistants bringing screens into the equation, designing and developing multi modal experiences is going to be an increasing area of opportunity over the next year.Google becomes multi-lingualGoogle announced multi-lingual support for Google Assistant. That means that you can speak to the Assistant in a different language and have it respond back to you in that language without having to change the language settings. This is a great feature for households that speak more than one language.Takeaway:Although this might not be widely used initially, this is a great step forward in providing a frictionless user experience for those who speak more than one language. For brands, this brings the necessity to internationalise your voice experiences closer to home.Check out the podcast we did with Maaike Dufour to learn more about how to transcreate and internationalise your voice experience.Amazon announces about a million Alexa devicesAmazon announced a whole host of Alexa enabled deviceslast week, including:Echo Dot V2 and Echo Plus V2A new Echo Show (with a 10 inch screen)Echo Auto (for the car)Echo Sub (a subwoofer)Fire TV Recast (a TV set top box)An Alexa-injected microwaveA clock, with Alexa built inEcho Input (turns any speaker into a smart speaker)A Ring security cameraA smart plugAn ampTakeaway:These new devices, whether they succeed or fail, present opportunities for brands, designers and developers in that they provide an insight into a user's context. That can help you shape an experience based around that context.For example, you can now target commuters with long form audio through Alexa while they're driving. You can provide micro engagement through Alexa while your customer is cooking their rice.This could be the beginnings of the 'Alexa Everywhere' movement, which will be laden with opportunities for those who seek to understand where users are and what they're seeking to achieve at that time.Alexa Presentation LanguageThe Alexa Presentation Languageallows you to design and develop custom visuals to enhance your user's screen-accompanying Alexa experience.Until now, if you wanted to serve visuals on an Echo Spot or Echo Show, you'd have to use one of 7 design templates. This announcement means that you can create your own designs and even do things like sync visual transitions with audio and, in future, there'll be support for video and HTML 5.Takeaway:As with many of the items in this week's Rundown, there's an increasing emphasis on multi-modal experiences. Over the next year or so, expect more voice + screen devices. This will mean that you'll need to start thinking about how you can add value through visuals as part of your offering.Kane's pro tip:Even though there are more options for voice + screen, still focus on creating voice-first experiences. Don't let the screen take over. Lead with voice and supplement or enhance with visuals.Alexa smart screen and TV device SDKThis announcementenables device manufacturers to create hardware with a screen that runs Alexa. For example, Amazon will announce the details of how Sony have used the SDK to add Alexa capability to their TVs.Takeaway:For hardware brands, you can now add Alexa to your products. For the rest of us, watch this space. This is yet further evidence to suggest that voice + screen experiences are going to be something users come to expect in future.Introducing the Alexa Connect Kit (ACK)ACK allows device manufacturers to add Alexa to their hardwarewithout having to worry about creating a skill or managing cloud services or security.Essentially, you can add an ACK module to your device, connect it to your micro controller and hey presto, you have an Alexa enabled device.It's the same thing Amazon used to build their new microwave.Takeaway:Another opportunity for hardware brands to add value to your product line and another signal that Alexa will potentially be spreading further and wider. If you haven't thought about how this might impact your business and the opportunities you might find in future, this is a good time to start that thought process.Two final Alexa announcements:Whisper mode, which enables a user to whisper at Alexa and it'll whisper back.Hunch, which is Alexa's first move to become proactive in suggesting things you might want to do based on previous behaviour.Takeaway:In unclear whether either of these things require developers to markup their skills for this in any way or whether Alexa will take care of everything for you.Finally, BixbyBixby will be opening up for public Beta in November after a few months in private beta.There was a webinar this week, exclusive to the private beta members, which included a host of announcements. I'm still trying to get hold of the webinar or someone who can shed some light on it and we'll try and bring you further news on this on the next Rundown. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we're speaking to serial entrepreneur, Yann Lachelle, COO at Snips, about the privacy by design alternative to Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa.Privacy is a hot topic. With the Cambridge Analytica scandal and the introduction of GDPR in Europe, people are becoming more aware and more concerned with how companies are using their data.On the enterprise-side, one of the challenges preventing companies from implementing voice is the apprehension towards sending sensitive data to Amazon or Google.Enter, SnipsThe Paris-based startup is bringing a privacy-first approach to their voice assistant. We speak to Snips' COO Yann Lachelle about the details and how you can use itIn this episodes, we discuss:What Snips is and its position in the marketWhy privacy is a concern for consumers and companiesSnips' approach to voice and privacyEdge computing and how Snips is tackling securityOpen sourcing the backend of the Snips assistantBlockchain and decentralising the voice ecosystemOur guestYann Lachelle is a serial entrepreneur. He's founded and sold several companies and has a 100% record of founding and exiting. Yann's experience in the startup world is vast and his knowledge on AI and the voice industry is more than impressive.As COO of Snips, Yann is helping Snips make technology disappear by bringing to market the world's first privacy-by-design voice assistant.Yann brings us some inspiring stories, intensely relevant insights and plenty of observations that'll help you get a full understanding of what Snips can offer you or your clients.Where to listenApple podcastsSpotifyYouTubeCastBoxSpreakerTuneInBreakerStitcherPlayerFMiHeartRadioLinksVisit the Snips websiteTry Snips for developersJoin the Snips community on DiscordCheck out Snips' whitepaper explaining the details of their blockchain ambitionsFind out more about Snips and blockchain  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Dustin and I catch up with John Kelvie, CEO and founder of Bespoken, and learn all about the three types of testing that can help you create and sustain great voice experiences.We discuss:Unit testing:how to test your code locally without having to deploy into the cloud and test through your smart speaker or phone. This can save developers a whole load of time and effort in the development phase.End to end testing:how to automate testing of utterances and intents to make sure you're returning the correct response to the various utterances that can be fed through your skill or action. This saves the QA folks time as you no longer need to fire up your skill or action and physically test every possible utterance.Continuous testing:making sure that your continue to keep on top of the ever-changing AI operating systems and ensuring your skill or action is always operating as intended.We also discuss the convergence of usability testing and technical testing and how they can play together, as well as hear John's take on the future of voice.Where to listenApple podcastsSpotifyYouTubeCastBoxSpreakerTuneInBreakerStitcherPlayerFMiHeartRadioLinkshttps://bespoken.ioBespoken on twitterCheck out Bespoken's webinars Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tony Lizza, Project Manager at Apollo Matrix, shares his battle scars from working on the technical implementation of the Netflix 13 Reasons Why interactive cinema experience.This was a voice and video experience that was deployed through the mobile web browser and was used to promote Netflix's biggest show, 13 Reasons Why.Dustin Coates and I talk to Tony all about the creation of the experience and the technical challenges Tony and his team faced in implementing something so bleeding-edge, including taking advantage of new APIs that allow developers to access a user's mic and video from within a web browser on mobile and how to handle a lack of that functionality within the walled gardens of social media.We discuss using a fallback touch-based experience, the surprising results of user testing, as well as the technical details of how to do speech to text from within a browser and plenty more.Here's a promo video for the experience that gives you a flavour:13 Reasons Why - Talk to the Reasons - Netflixfrom Moth + Flameon Vimeo.Where to listenApple podcastsSpotifyYouTubeCastBoxSpreakerTuneInBreakerStitcherPlayerFMiHeartRadioLinkswww.talktothereasons.comapollomatrix.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're starting a new feature on VUX World: The Run Down. Dustin Coates and I are getting together each week (or bi-weekly) to discuss the recent happenings in the voice space and how that'll impact designers, developers and brands.Alexa settings APIWe're starting off by discussing the Amazon Alexa feature that developers have been clambering for since 2016: the settings API.With the settings API, you can access the user's timezone (among other things) and use that within your skill to personalise the voice experience for your users. You can send them targeted push notificationsat the appropriate time and use their preferred weather measurement (Celsius or Fahrenheit).We discuss Eric Olsen's (3PO Labs) in-depth review of the settings APIand how it could be the beginning of something bigger.Scott Huffman's 5 insights on voice techWe also discuss Scott Huffman's post (VP Engineering, Google Assistant) on the five insights on voice technologyand how they should impact your approach. For example, focusing on utilities and understanding what kind of things people use Assistant for at different times of day.Voysis and Voicebot vCommerce studyWe delve into the Voysis and Voicebot study on vCommerceand discuss how voice on mobile is so important, yet how it's bubbling away under the surface, not grabbing many headlines.Alexa skills challenge, Storyline and icon creationFinally, we discuss the latest Alexa Skills Challenge: Games, in-skill purchases on Storyline (check out VUX World with Vasili Shynkarenka, CEO, Storyline) and the new Alexa feature that allows anyone to create icons for their skills.Where to listenApple podcastsSpotifyYouTubeCastBoxSpreakerTuneInBreakerStitcherPlayerFMiHeartRadioOther linksThe Power of Habit bookHooked book Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alexa Accelerator 2018 featured startup, Voiceitt, gives people with speech impairments their voice back. Today, we're joined by co-founder and VP Strategy, Sara Smolley, to hear all about it.The There are millions of people across the globe who have non-standard speech. People who've had a stroke or who have multiple sclerosis or cerebral pausey, for example. Voiceitt's advanced speech recognition system, which is deployed through an app, allows those people to speak and be understood.Once it's configured, all you do is speak through the app and Voiceitt will do the rest, handling speech to text and displaying the text on-screen whilst a synthetic voice speaks the words to you.For all that's said about voice being accessible, Voiceitt's mission is to open up voice technology to the rest of the world.Our GuestAfter working in Hong Kong and South Korea in marketing and startup consulting, Sara moved to Tel Aviv to help build and establish Voiceitt. Sara travels across the globe working on the strategic side of the business, building relationships, gathering insights and bringing the powerful mission and technology that Voiceitt posses to the world.Where to listenApple podcastsSpotifyYouTubeCastBoxSpreakerTuneInBreakerStitcherPlayerFMiHeartRadioLinkshttp://www.voiceitt.com  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.