AI-powered voice technology is redefining customer interactions; Brands have a small window of opportunity to be at the forefront of the next iteration of customer experience

Imagine a world where customers literally didn’t have to lift a finger to engage with their favorite brands. Many consumers already use basic voice commands with their phones or home assistants, but voice tech in the age of GenAI is poised to revolutionize customer experiences (CX). By replacing texting and click-based navigation with voice-activated apps that feature the ease and fluidity of natural conversation, brands have the opportunity to provide consumers with low-effort and more personalized interactions while simultaneously driving efficiencies within their CX operations.

Recent insights from a TELUS International (NYSE and TSX: TIXT) survey, conducted for National Customer Appreciation Day on April 18, highlighted the importance of this opportunity for brands. When asked if they would rather have a more personalized customer experience or one that took less time, 62% of survey respondents chose personalization. But, when survey respondents weren’t limited to a single response, they said that CX should be more personalized (44%), faster (44%) and make you want to purchase again (45%). And although 60% said they would “suffer through'' a bad customer experience rather than pay one or more paychecks to guarantee a good customer experience, 55% said that “nothing excuses a bad customer experience.”

Considering the fact that more than half of survey respondents (54%) also said they would rather get stuck in a slow-moving traffic jam than endure a poor customer experience, it is obvious that consumers want brands to do better. This underscores both an opportunity and a challenging reality for today’s brands: how to balance the provision of timely, high-quality, personalized CX while delivering it in a sustainable, cost-efficient way amid a challenging macroeconomic environment. This is where AI-powered voice technology is a game changer.

“Advances in conversational AI and voice technology are revolutionizing how consumers are interacting with devices and the world around us. Brands adopting voice tech is about them leading the charge in a market that values speed, accuracy and above all, personalization,” said Tobias Dengel, President of WillowTree, a TELUS International Company. “What better way to show your appreciation to customers than by incorporating voice-activated and AI-supported technologies to elevate customer experiences in order to not only meet, but also anticipate their needs. Businesses have a small window of opportunity to be among the first to adopt voice tech and prepare their CX ecosystems for a voice-first future that will position them to lead the competition for years to come.”

Voice Technology Explained: How It's Changing the Way We Communicate

Dengel is also the author of “The Sound of the Future: The Coming Age of Voice Technology,” and asserts that voice-enabled apps represent "the next big wave [in technology] — as big as the internet or as big as mobile."

Voice-enabled technology is powered by a few key innovations that transform how we interact with devices. Voice-enabled technology leverages automatic speech recognition (ASR), natural language processing (NLP) and understanding (NLU) to transform natural speech into machine-readable formats and interpret underlying meanings. But to be truly effective, voice must be leveraged with other modalities, such as text and images, across a single interaction for brands to be able to provide frictionless digital customer experiences.

Multimodal voice applications and the ability to give voice prompts could ‘spell’ the end of customers manually searching a website in favor of verbally describing what they seek. On average, people speak three times as fast as they can type on a keyboard, and five times faster than on a mobile device. In action, voice-enabled apps cut down the time customers spend typing or clicking by two-thirds. These technologies help make customer interactions more personal and smoother overall by enabling customers to communicate in their natural language and receive thoughtful, tailored responses.

WillowTree, a TELUS International Company, takes a multidisciplinary approach to voice technology, combining talent and deep expertise from its award-winning AI, design, strategy, and engineering teams. See how we can help your organization with our conversational AI and voice technology consulting.

TELUS International: At the forefront of the AI-fueled CX revolution

TELUS International recently launched its Fuel iX Beta Program, a powerful enterprise-grade AI engine that helps companies upgrade their GenAI pilots to production scale in order to deploy customized solutions faster, and effectively manage the technology responsibly. It offers customization flexibility with access to over 100 large language models, enabling businesses to manage applications across diverse environments and clouds. To request an invite to the Fuel iX restricted beta release, submit your request here.

As part of Fuel iX's consultation component, the GenAI Jumpstart accelerator program develops AI use cases in eight weeks, rapidly identifying use cases, building powerful risk mitigation tools and delivering a bespoke GenAI-powered virtual assistant prototype to demonstrate the value of AI to your business. For more information about GenAI Jumpstart, click here.

Survey Methodology:

Findings are based on a Pollfish survey of 1,000 Americans. The survey ran on March 26, 2024.

About TELUS International

TELUS International (NYSE & TSX: TIXT) designs, builds and delivers next-generation digital solutions to enhance the customer experience (CX) for global and disruptive brands. The company’s services support the full lifecycle of its clients’ digital transformation journeys, enabling them to more quickly embrace next-generation digital technologies to deliver better business outcomes. TELUS International’s integrated solutions span digital strategy, innovation, consulting and design, IT lifecycle including managed solutions, intelligent automation and end-to-end AI data solutions including computer vision capabilities, as well as omnichannel CX and trust and safety solutions including content moderation. Fueling all stages of company growth, TELUS International partners with brands across high growth industry verticals, including tech and games, communications and media, eCommerce and fintech, healthcare, and travel and hospitality.

TELUS International’s unique caring culture promotes diversity and inclusivity through its policies, team member resource groups and workshops, and equal employment opportunity hiring practices across the regions where it operates. The company is building stronger communities and helping those in need through large-scale volunteer events that have positively impacted the lives of more than 150,000 citizens around the world and through its five TELUS International Community Boards that have provided $5.6 million in funding to grassroots charitable organizations since 2015. Learn more at: www.telusinternational.com.

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