Voice-based integration has been evolving for more than a century, from clunky old school phones to the latest voice assistants. They have been transforming how people and systems interact with each other. From directing employee processes and optimizing supply chain management to addressing customer concerns, voice technology lends itself seamlessly to enterprise integration.

Over the past few years, Artificial Intelligence has been at the forefront of reinventing what the future of enterprise voice can be. AI-driven platforms are expanding the reach of voice interactions by helping enterprises to seamlessly interact on the channel of their choice, without any loss of consistency or context. Powered by Natural Language Understanding (NLU), voice recognition technology translates spoken words into actionable commands. Gartner even says that “By 2023, 25% of employee interactions with applications will be via voice, up from less than 3 percent in 2019“.

Voice and iPaaS: Made to interact

Today, iPaaS has been rapidly emerging as the primary unifier of speech recognition with other enterprise applications. Even if your enterprise is harnessing multiple communications tools, iPaaS can help your enterprise integrate conversational interfaces over any internal business platform. With its ability to manage complex integrations, you do not require a lot of coding or system-related infrastructure to link applications and build voice-related workflows across Salesforce, Twitter, Google Docs, and others. The ‘drag and drop’ interface of iPaaS tools also make it simple to automate internal processes by applying business rules and logic.

So, what does this mean for you – a technology leader? How can your enterprise’s voice integration capabilities make life simpler for you?

According to a study by PWC, 82% percent of employees have cited a decrease in paperwork being the biggest advantage of AI-led automation tools. Interestingly, it was followed by routine paperwork scheduling (79%) and timesheet entry (78%). Hence, as a technology leader, you are constantly under pressure to make your teams more productive by eliminating how much time they spend on low value tasks. With workforce connectivity driving the execution of many of these tasks, ensuring clarity and transparency in communication is just as important.

5 ways voice integration can help you achieve business goals

1. Drive back-end connectivity: Next-gen voice technology improves enterprise connectivity by targeting specific employee groups and catering to individual business objectives. You can optimize workflows between teams and make systems more user-friendly to employees.
2. Boost employee productivity: With access to voice analytics, enterprises can accurately identify areas of improvement so that employees spend lesser time on unproductive tasks. It optimizes the overall operational workflow to accelerate the speed at which business goals are achieved.
3. Improve supply chain dynamics: New-age voice technologies like conversational AI can be integrated in your ERP touchpoints. It aids in clearly establishing the different roles played by employees in the supply chain.
4. Enhance onboarding experience: The voice of the enterprise can be embedded in the new employee onboarding procedure to provide access to basic information and simplify initial training modules. For instance, query FAQs through speech processing to pass on information to new employees quicker than ever.
5. Detect frauds: Voice recognition creates a cluster of keywords to identify the threat of frauds quickly. Enterprises can save time, money, and effort by adding a layer of voice-activated threat prevention to stop fraudulent activities proactively.

In 2019, with screen-first conversational interfaces fuelling social interactions – enterprises are under pressure to connect with customers – anytime and anywhere. Voice technologies are not just adding value to backend operations; they are also reimagining how it interacts with customers through frontend platforms.

Voice integration and CX: Look who’s talking

With the increasing usage of voice-enabled smart interfaces such as Siri, Alexa, and Google Voice, chatbots have evolved to become the centrepiece of augmented customer experience (CX). Chatbots interpret voice-based commands of customers and offer relevant responses on behalf of enterprises. Using conversational AI, chatbots can manage a wide variety of support requirements – from answering product or service-related queries to completing purchase cycles.

They use speech-to-text technology to interpret natural variations in volume, cadence, and other parameters, and create humanlike engagement. They also use sentiment analysis to recognize the customer’s state of mind and cater to varying emotional shifts.

Due to the ease of inputs, the retail industry – in particular – has greatly benefited from intuitive bot performances. While Facebook and Instagram messenger chatbots are emerging as experiential chat interfaces, some future-proofed retailers have even invested in their own software. For instance, eBay has deployed ShopBot – which simplifies browsing and purchasing decisions.

“Google’s voice assistant is now available on more than 400 million devices” – TechCrunch

Enterprises also get more service flexibility and intuitiveness to reduce customer frustration at every stage of the journey. Furthermore, they can contextually up-sell or cross-sell and add true value to customers.

Think fast, speak smart, be customer-friendly

Voice recognition technology is changing the face of customer experience. In fact, channel behaviors – at large – have been drastically transformed.

“More than half of all US consumers already use some form of voice-assisted technology on a regular basis” – Deloitte

A recent Comscore study also revealed that “Half of all online searches will be voice-based by 2020”.

It is why smart speakers such as Amazon Echo and Google Home, and voice assistants such as Siri, Alexa, and Google Voice, have started to play a more significant role in the purchase journey. They are adding new dimensions to how real-time customer relationships can be managed.

• Provide ability to multitask with reduced friction (time + effort)
• Offer more individualized experiences
• Use voice push notifications to add service value
• Make it easier for customers to offer feedback
• Complete the omnichannel engagement journey
• Become a part of the customer’s daily routine

Whether using voice commands to set up meetings and make complex calculations, voice technologies are radically changing the way enterprises interact – both internally and externally. Conversational interfaces have become the go-to productivity tools for improved workforce collaboration, which leads to operational excellence. Ultimately, it helps enterprises to deliver exceptional customer experiences too.

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