The broader use of chatbots has allowed consumers to get answers to their most important questions in real-time. These chatbots are now being used as virtual assistants, making it easy for us to place orders, voice concerns, as well as ask questions about brands, products, and service.
 
Chatbot services first appeared as text-based conversations because slow internet connections didn’t provide enough bandwidth for us to have voice controlled ones. Since then, we’ve had 4G and fiber broadband introduced to us, meaning we no longer have to cling to these text interfaces.
 
Companies leading the chatbot revolution have started introducing voice-activated bots that allow us to undertake our communications in real-time without having to spend hours typing on small screens. With that in mind, here are 5 voice-activated chatbot use cases that are leading this new movement.
 
1. Alexa
 
Amazon’s Alexa is an intelligent personal assistant that has become popular, thanks to the Amazon Echo. Aside from being able to control smart devices and working as a home automation system, Alexa can undertake a huge variety of other tasks through simple voice commands. Some of these include:
 
– Voice interaction
– Music playback
– Making to-do lists
– Streaming podcasts
– Setting alarms
– Playing audiobooks
– Offering weather forecast and traffic updates
– Providing real-time information, such as news updates
 
The Alexa Voice Service allows companies to integrate Alexa voice capabilities into their own products. Lastly, Amazon announced Amazon Lex last year, a new service that allows brands to create their own Alexa-like conversational chatbots.
 
2. Siri
 
Most people see Siri as a low-key personal assistant on their iPhone. While the conversational tool does have these capabilities, Siri is now more powerful than ever. With the new iOS 10 released, Siri is able to control more third party applications; MacOS Sierra has made Siri available on the desktop as well.
 
Through simple voice commands, Siri is now able to undertake a huge variety of tasks for you, some of which include:
 
– Sending a text message, making a call, or Facetiming a friend
– Browsing the web
– Launching and closing applications
– Setting up, changing, and canceling meetings
– Getting sports, weather, movie, stock prices, and other updates
– Checking out photos in your camera roll
– Making reservations
– Playing music
– Sending, reading, and organizing emails
 
3. Cortana
 
Cortana is another voice-activated intelligent personal assistant that was created by Microsoft. The personal assistant is now available in a variety of languages, some of which include English, French, Spanish, Chinese, and German, among others. As with many other voice-activated personal assistants, Cortana is able to make reservations, order food, book trips, manage calendars, transcribe messages, identify songs, and so on.
 
Since its release, Cortana has been made available for Windows 10 desktops and mobile, as well as other mobile platforms, such as Android and iOS. The personal assistant has now been integrated into Microsoft Edge, Skype, and of course, Invoke, Microsoft’s latest voice-activated speaker made in collaboration with Harman Kardon.
 
4. Google Now
 
Google Now has an “OK Google” voice search, which is a voice-activated virtual assistant that literally tells you everything you need to know when you want to know it. Google Now works through an application, and with a few changes in settings, can be activated by simply saying “OK Google”. As long as your phone is awake, your Google Now can be as well.
 
Some of Google Now’s abilities include, but are not limited, to:
 
– Sending app-specific commands, as well as controlling said applications
– Making general searches
– Creating, modifying, deleting, and organizing notes, reminders, meetings, and so on
– Making phone calls and sending messages
– Finding out about the weather
– Using maps to find various different locations
– Listening to music
 
5. Google Assistant
 
Google Assistant is similar to Google Now, but many describe it as significantly more impressive, as it understands natural language and engages in a two-way conversation. You can speak to Google Assistant the same way you would a person. Google Assistant understands the context around the commands and acts accordingly.
 
The virtual assistant is among the most impressive on the market today as it has proven to show initiative. Now, you can say “Play Orange is the New Black” and your Google Assistant will automatically open Netflix, search for Orange is the New Black, and play it. The best part is, as with any AI-powered tool, the more you use it, the better it gets.

 

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