Virtual assistants with speech recognition features are becoming commonplace, especially in Outbound Sales. This cutting-edge technology is considered a game-changer in the world of automation, revolutionizing the way Outbound Sales teams work. Some of the most popular and high-performance virtual assistants are Amazon Alexa, Apple Siri, Google Assistant, Apple HomePod, Microsoft Cortana, and Samsung Bixby. This means we will witness virtual assistants performing more advanced functions. Imagine reaching out to Cox internet plans and having a virtual assistant assist you with your queries and orders. Doesn’t seem very far-fetched, does it?
The Pros
Let’s begin by presenting the advantages of voice recognition and virtual assistants.
Reducing Our Screen Time
Ever since speech recognition has been introduced at the customer level, experts claimed that people will almost stop using the keyboard. However, at that time, technology wasn’t so refined. Today, speech recognition algorithms are highly advanced to be a viable alternative to other input devices such as touchscreens and keyboards.
Voice assistants and speech commands reduce our reliance on screens which is an unhealthy obsession. Parents, in particular, are worried about their kids being glued to the screen for long hours. Kids and teens who use tablets have increased the use of voice commands so they can able to find more scholarships to study in Qatar and many other countries.. And that’s great because giving a voice command takes a few moments and you don’t have to essentially look into the screen. That is not the case when it comes to typing.
Highly Useful For Visually Impaired
Differently-abled people such as those with visual impairment and mobility restrictions can use speech recognition effortlessly. This amazing feature can be a huge help when it comes to extending accessibility options to a massive audience.
The proliferation of virtual assistants, capable of engaging with their users in conversational language is the next big step. Furthermore, the still-developing technology of AI is promising in this area and is yet to show its potential in further advancing virtual assistants. We are hoping that once it is done, the accessibility options will be staggering.
Coordinating IoT Devices
Today, we have an entirely new generation of smart objects, devices, appliances, and accessories. It has only been possible because of the expansion of IoT. This new range of IoT devices offers a few feature buttons, fewer keyboards, and screens. Most of them operate on manual activation.
In this area, the speech recognition feature can be a game-changer. Not only it is logical but it is also highly facilitating to connect and control them using a virtual assistant even from a distance. Some of the commercial virtual assistants such as Amazon Alexa, Amazon Echo, and Google Home are already using standard communication protocols. This enables them to interact with a variety of IoT devices. And in some cases, they can even interact with various devices simultaneously.
Clubbed with speech recognition, we can soon witness highly sophisticated smart homes.
Now to the Cons
Let’s talk about some of the downsides of speech recognition in virtual assistants.
Their Offline Performance is Poor
A reliable and fast internet connection is mandatory for the smooth operation of virtual assistants. Generally, manufacturers and tech companies haven’t considered it necessary to introduce offline recognition in virtual assistants.
Said that fast and reliable internet isn’t as common in the world as many developers and companies might assume. This means that speech recognition in virtual assistants isn’t a viable option in several parts of the world!
They Understand But Don’t Comprehend
There’s a clear distinction between understanding and comprehension. And this is one of the biggest limitations when it comes to speech recognition technology. Furthermore, the responses, which are coded into virtual assistants also lack this aspect.
There are several aspects involved in the understanding level of your virtual assistant’s speech recognition. Some of them are the hardware capabilities, the sophistication of the software, and the reliability and speed of the internet connection. As these factors will improve, the recognition performance will also improve.
The Issue of Interference
The number of IoT-connected devices is expected to increase tremendously within a few years. Every person will possess several devices and these devices will cross billions. This means that all these smart appliances, wearable gadgets, connected devices, and smart vehicles will create pools of interference. This translates to a constant struggle for bandwidth.
Such factors can harm speech recognition capabilities. Especially when it comes to accessing their databases to perform their primary functions. Another concern is the ever-increasing noise. The extraneous noise is making it difficult for speech recognition systems to pay attention to the owner’s command when there’s TV, radio, laptops, and tablets, running in the background.
Conclusion
The speech recognition feature in particular has improved immensely over the past years. Unlike before, you don’t have to wait for hours for the software to understand your voice patterns. Today, with the help of cloud-based databases, virtual assistants can recognize comments and commands in conversational language within moments. They can also now respond in a natural-sounding voice with personality and nuance. All these developments and benefits certainly make the pros stand out more!
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