Designing the Ultimate Voice Experience using Speech Pattern Recognition
VUIs are also known as voice assistants, a few examples being Siri, Alexa, and Cortana, which are embedded in touchscreen devices such as your smartphone or tablet. People rely on this kind of voice technology to order food in a restaurant app, book a hotel ahead of time, schedule a ride with their Lyft driver, or receive suggestions for what to buy based on their shopping history. They can serve as virtual assistants, as seen in Microsoft’s Cortana which collects data from your browsing history, emails, and calendar events to suggest personalized recommendations.
How Brands Should Introduce AI in Voice User Interfaces
Brands and agencies could adopt the same process from Amazon, by using the Alexa Skills Kit to incorporate their OS with a unique voice experience, delivering information more efficiently to device users. When users interact with VUIs, they will expect the voice to talk to them just like another person, rather than simply formulate a monotone response after finding the solution to their request. However, UX designers aiming to create an optimal user experience, might not be as familiar working with voice user interfaces (VUIs).
For brands to fully tackle the constraints of interactive design, they must first build an AI capable of identifying the consumer’s intent. The next step would be improving the customer buying journey, from finding the search results narrowed down by keywords to finalizing the transaction by collecting the user’s payment information. You might as well collect data from users by establishing a Use Case Matrix, as this outlines why users interact with certain devices. Are they asking the voice app to check the weather? Or do they want the voice to answer general questions?
First of all, you would need a good understanding of how people naturally communicate with their voices, and by association, the fundamentals of voice interaction including its ability to sync up with a graphical UI. Amazon has established some best practices for developing voice recognition technology.
Does the Voice Assistant Communicate in a Friendly, Non-Robotic Manner?
Many products already feature an optional VUI as an add-on to the touchscreen UI, but some devices only work if given a voiced command. One of these is Google Home, which is a smart WiFi speaker that doubles as a control hub for lighting, temperature, and storing your favorite music.
There are important questions UX designers should ask: Does implementing a voice assistant make virtual interactions more convenient for the user? Is adding a voice input to the UI helping them figure out how menus are organized and what each option does? If the answer is yes, then you’re on the right track.
The voice interface must mimic normal speech patterns in order to prevent confusing the user, who is asking it to perform a specific action. The app should be able to continue a meaningful conversation when assisting the speaker. In any case, they should focus on personalizing the voice so it can communicate with the user in an appropriate tone.
Important Guidelines for Designing Voice Interactions in the Proper User Environment
Another factor that determines the effectiveness of VUIs is the device type. This impacts the input mode of a voice interaction: Almost everyone owns a smartphone, allowing the voice assistant to supply visual and auditory feedback. And yet, the voice plays a more passive role in wearables like fitness bands or smart shoes, given that the wearer can’t stop exercising just to touch or swipe the interface.
On the other hand, are stationary devices such as desktop computers and connected hubs. Voice interactions make these appliances easier to use because users place them in a specific location so they will detect voice in the room. What about integrating a nonlinear system that tells apart explicit or implicit intent? UX developers have to strive for minimalism when they design a VUI, or else the user will become overwhelmed by being bombarded with too many options and features.
The voice assistant is responsible, not only for guiding users through the functionality but also for saving them time so they don’t have to look up the missing information. Lastly, UX designers must always have an error strategy at hand in the event that the AI doesn’t recognize what the user is saying.