Voice Assistants: How Businesses and Offices are Using the Technology

By Amanda Peterson, Contributor at Enlightened Digital

Voice technology, also referred to as “voice assistants”, is changing the way people search, shop, text and email in their daily lives. Many individuals have these devices in their home or use it on their phones. However, not all businesses have used this technology in their offices or work areas. Those who have implemented voice technology mainly use it for customer interaction, such as answerers through a help line. There are however, plenty of other areas where this technology can help businesses succeed.

Voice assistants have the ability to handle more of the mundane tasks within an office. Instead of pulling an employee off a job or task, voice technology can complete menial administrative tasks. Offices have used this technology to manage calendars, create to-do lists, order and reorder office supplies, book conference rooms, control lights and room temperature, make travel plans, and start calls and meetings. Voice assistants can boost productivity by allowing employees to focus on higher-level projects.

During a meeting, voice assistants can automate smaller tasks. Instead of fumbling around looking for passwords and phone numbers, some voice assistant technologies can handle the simple command of ‘start the meeting,’ which keeps things on track. They can also be programmed to dim lights or close curtains.

This technology is also useful for data sourcing. Voice assistants can gather large amounts of data and find the most relevant information for the given query. Business that find the right information in a timely manner have an easier time making data-driven decisions, which leads to improving overall revenue.

Using their voice as a tool, employees can have flexible access when doing their job. For individuals unable to use a keyboard, such as a field technicians in the middle of fixing something or an employee in a situation where they’re using a device, like augmented reality glasses, without a keyboard, voice assistants can listen and record what they are saying or give them an answer for their present situation.

One issue businesses may face when using this technology is having multiple voice devices within the same area. As it stands, voice assistants tend to have trouble with identifying and responding to one individual voice in a crowded area. It’s difficult to filter out background noise, and remove bias if multiple people are using only one device. However, future development should help remove some of these problems.

In the future, businesses may use voice technology for speaking out commands. While people at home use voice assistant for reading out a recipe, employees would be able to have their device speak out instructions for assembling a product. Rather than going back and forth to instructions, employees would rely on the technology and possibly reduce construction time.

Voice technology is a big tool in people’s daily lives. When businesses choose to use voice tools, their employees see a variety of benefits. From handling mundane tasks to answering questions on company data, voice technology is a virtual team member that aids its human counterparts.

Author Bio: Amanda Peterson is a software engineer and regular contributor to Enlightened Digital. Based in New York City, she enjoys visiting record stores and Netflix binging with her Puggle, Hendrix.