Alexa, Talk To Me
Voice technologies have advanced dramatically over the last decade, and there’s no sign of slowing down. Although consumer voice technology products are relatively new, the industry has a bright future and the potential to transform computing as we know it. According to The Economist, the Amazon Echo is already a staple in 4% of American households and Apple’s Siri receives over two billion commands a week. The power of voice lies in its ability to provide consumers a natural means of interacting, but the technology must be developed further before this can occur.
So what does the advancement of voice technologies mean for UX? According to Forbes Technology Council, UX will move more and more towards mimicking human interaction.
“People are very resistant to change. Some don’t believe that, but change management is difficult for many people. Thus, UX will move closer to human interactions, with machines that are voice driven and close to a typical conversation of today.”
Some people think that being able to talk to computers will eliminate the need for a user interface, but I would argue that this is foolish thinking. Instead, advancements in voice technologies will simply force us to be more thoughtful and innovative when it comes to user interface and UX design. Ultimately, as designers, we must recognize why people are using voice interactions: to reduce friction, allowing them to get more done faster.
One of the biggest challenges UX designers will face with the rise of voice interactions is vocabulary. How does vocabulary present a challenge? When it comes to voice interactions, users don’t have visual cues to aid in guiding them through the experience. This leaves vast room for error when it comes to how the user understands the word or phrase.
Aside from vocabulary, voice interactions will require designers to communicate brand and image differently. Designers will need to capitalize on aspects of voice such as gender, age, tone, accent, cadence, and inflection among others.
At the end of the day, voice technologies are here to stay. And as designers we must be prepared to adapt. What can you do as a designer? Get out there, dive into the world of voice interactions, and design with your eyes closed!
Sources
How Voice Technology is Transforming Computing
