Voice Technology predictions for 2022

Joe Hagan, Chief Product Officer, is responsible for the LumenVox product portfolio. For more than 20 years, Joe has directed high-performing Product Management, Strategy, and Marketing teams across a diverse set of technology companies. Prior to joining LumenVox, Joe established the Product Management function and built out the marketing organization for CiBO Technologies. He also worked with Aspen Technology, where he was instrumental in restructuring the software simulation portfolio to better serve large enterprise customers. Joe’s experience enables him to effectively build and grow high-value software products, implement robust marketing technology platforms, and restructure product roadmaps so they meet the needs of global customers.

Enterprises that welcomed, adopted, and invested in the digital revolution early on have surged ahead of competitors. Central to their success has been voice technology. Businesses that have upped their voice technology game are finding themselves with stronger customer relationships and more market share. Voice tech innovation has proven its power in elevating today’s customer experience with capabilities that include converting spoken language to text, virtual assistants, closed captioning, and hands-free computing.

Below are four voice technology predictions for how it might evolve in 2022.

As new ASR engines offer state-of-the-art capabilities such as voice biometrics, call progress analysis, and superior speech recognition, businesses are revolutionizing the ways they communicate. Moreover, as voice technology further integrates with business operations; companies will gain access to robust data that can inform business decisions. Companies that have yet to embrace modern voice technology will be wise to hasten their investment and evolve with it. Joe Hagan, chief product officer at LumenVox:

#1: AI and ML in voice solutions will evolve

Significant advancements in artificial intelligence and machine learning continue to have a huge impact on how we interact with our applications. The increasing use of AI-powered devices means search algorithms must evolve to accommodate machine learning (ML) and support the growing use cases in voice technology. 

More and more businesses will see the value of enabling consumers to interact through conversation rather than only visual interaction for web and applications. This shift will change the way companies nurture relationships with customers.

#2: Use of voice-enabled chatbots will continue to rise

As voice technology grows, business leaders and decision-makers must quickly voice-enable new applications. These applications can serve an increasing number of consumers because they use a broad language model with highly efficient and accurate algorithms - especially useful in serving a more diverse user base. Enhanced voice-enabled chatbots provide several benefits, including faster responses and zero wait times, better two-way interactions, enhanced customer experiences, and fraud detection.

#3: Consumers will expect more personalized experiences

Customers are expecting more personalized experiences as they grow more sophisticated and tech-savvy. Enterprises that take advantage of innovative personalization capabilities will find themselves building stronger and more meaningful relationships with their customers by using leading-edge ML and natural language processing (NLP) with sentiment analysis, to identify the true meaning of customer requests. By identifying intents and purposes, brands can generate accurate responses for greater customer satisfaction.

#4: Citizen developers and the rise of low-code/no-code solutions

In the coming year, we will see major growth in low-code/no-code applications and the growing elevation and integration of the citizen developer movement. This step forward is fueling organizations to operate more fluidly in the IT realm, enabling companies to create self-service solutions (business apps and services) to meet rapidly evolving needs. 

Access to enterprise-grade technology has undergone significant democratization, allowing companies to select the best technology for every technical function without the burden of expensive professional service engagements or straining IT departments. The ease and accessibility of low-code/no-code solutions along with an intuitive toolset enable enterprises to easily design and manage solutions for unique use cases. 

Giving voice to the future

Voice technology and its role in enterprise operations are undergoing a rapid transformation. Innovations abound, and businesses are building and innovating toward a more substantial emphasis on voice technology to build better customer relationships and elevate business processes. Critical technologies like AI and NLP will fuel voice-enabled capabilities making voice technology more useful to diverse audiences.

In 2022 and beyond, enterprises will embrace AI/ML-enabled voice technologies such as chatbots, virtual assistants, and hands-free computing to deliver more personalized customer experiences and to revolutionize processes using low-code/no-code solutions, voice biometrics, and other technologies.