According to Gartner, there will be 25 billion voice-enabled applications and other IoT devices by 2020. There has been a significant growth in the adoption of virtual assistants across industries. Artificial intelligence improvements and other technological advancements are driving this growth of virtual assistants.
In this era, time is a luxury, thus consumers now have an option to interact without even using their mobile phones. The voice assistants are ordering our food, reserving tickets, making payments and much more. Hence, we’re becoming increasingly familiar with these assistants in our daily lives.
Major key players like Amazon, Google, Apple are paving their way in the voice assistant market. However, Amazon’s extended Alexa capabilities, that allow developers to build alexa skills (apps), are staying well ahead of the competition. According to Amazon, more than 15,000 alexa skills have been built by developers in the span of 2 years.
Alexa skills can be used for variety of purposes like, to obtain information about a company, country, product etc. (e.g. “Alexa, what was Facebook’s 2018 annual turnover?”) integrate it with other devices or apps (e.g. “Alexa, turn on the lights”), or enhance customer experiences (e.g. “Alexa, create a to-do”). The ability of alexa app to offer personalised and customised service, is one of the most attractive values that customers and businesses can take advantage of.
There would be different objectives or end user perspectives of using or developing different Alexa skills. However, the customer experience would be similar if the skills have been developed focusing high utility levels. Here are top 4 reasons why alexa skill is the new buzzword in the voice assistant market and how it’s driving great customer experiences:
1. Customization
Personalisation is the heart of customer experience. Thus, the most important of all is customization offered by alexa to build your own alexa skills, also known as Alexa apps. Other voice interfaces (like, Google Home) also provide the same functionality, however the API is quite limited for the same. When compared Alexa skill capabilities are way too broad in nature and creativity, with many developers joining the Alexa ecosystem.
Developers in an enterprise can use the Alexa Skills Kit to build Alexa apps with a custom interaction model. These apps can be built for variety of purposes and can be connected to other IoT devices. Whether you want to turn on lights or you want to control meeting rooms, everything is possible with just a voice command. In addition, custom built alexa skills can also delight customers through natural and engaging voice experiences. This makes everyday tasks at home or at office easier, faster and more engaging for the customers.
2. Multiple Language Support
What if your customers speak in French or maybe Italian? Alexa capabilities allow developers to maximize customer experience by offering support for multiple languages. This enables smooth flow of interaction, as nothing stops users from moving forward to achieve their goal.
Additionally, it also supports distribution of Alexa skill to multiple countries where Amazon has a presence. Thus, distributing a skill globally leads to the expansion of user base and potential customers. The flexibility, to scale up or down with regards to the geographical reach, is a major advantage one can enjoy while developing or ultimately using alexa skill.
3. Seamless Shopping Experience
Alexa’s tight integration with the core Amazon shopping platform has opened new doors for buyers as well as sellers. Alexa is offering flawless customer experience to the users by presenting its own online store, with millions of products to choose from. (e.g. “Alexa, what’s the price of Sony wireless headphones?”). Developers are offering premium experiences with this new functionality of in-skill purchasing. So, now brands can sell their products through Alexa apps and users can make payments through just a voice-activation, isn't that cool? Furthermore, there are Alexa skills that can notify you about your orders, Black Friday deals, gift ideas, Cyber Monday deals and much more to save you a few bucks. Hence, customers will have a consistent and delightful experience while using skills that offer in-skill purchases.
4. Strong Customer Support
Amazon offers strong customer service and support for Alexa skill development. It provides various incentives for companies and developers, to experiment with Alexa skill kit and to develop new skills. Moreover, most of the Alexa skills are free for developers to buiLd and host, using Amazon Web Services.
AWS has wide range of solutions to assist developers in building flexible and scalable Alexa skills. Ranging from database storage and computing power to content delivery, AWS covers it all. Even after the launch of an Alexa skill, there are options to track what’s performing or not and fix user experiences that do not resonate. This improves the overall user experience and dependability of a skill by analyzing and handling more intricate data.
Undoubtedly, Amazon has created excitement around the world about the ramifications of Alexa capabilities. The associated proliferation is undeniable, but so is the competition. With huge growth and amazing possibilities the world of voice assistants is developing right now. Henceforth, the major challenge is how well a business can ensure to be the part of the conversation by not missing this opportunity.