Speech Recognition Technology Takes Business Operations By Storm

Gradually the speech recognition software and hardware are becoming part of everyone’s lives. Amazon’s witty Alexa and Apple’s feisty Siri are now part of a large number of people’s day-to-day routines. Speech recognition technology may have started with such virtual assistants, but its future seems brighter with every new application.

Today, “simply ask” is the selling point of speech recognition. From making grocery shopping lists using Alexa to navigating using Google Maps installed in the vehicle, the world is filled with thousands of voice recognition apps. Although there were some hiccups–some were a nightmare and some were hilarious–while improving the voice recognition technology. However, today, an array of independent smartphone apps has integrated speech recognition software.

This is the era of smart devices from smartphones to smartwatches. Every technology company has focused its resources on making the devices more interactive whether by the means of touch or voice. According to Allied Market Research, the global speech recognition market is expected to reach $29.28 billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 19.9% from 2019 to 2026.

While virtual assistants are the first things that come to mind when asked about speech recognition technology, some companies have developed speech recognition technology for hotel and healthcare purposes.

For instance, Presto, the well-known provider of restaurant technologies, recently launched Presto Voice to automate speech recognition for restaurants. To cope with the labour shortage, Presto proposes to use its speech recognition tech to scale operations efficiently. The technology can be integrated into several restaurant settings such as kiosks, drive-thru, pay-at-table, line busters, and server handhelds and has the potential to streamline the guest experience. Presto Voice has an accuracy of over 95% and has a human backup option for rare edge cases. The company states that the technology could increase labour productivity by three times and boost revenue while maximizing guest happiness. The technology uses artificial intelligence (AI) that helps to recognize different accents and noise levels.

A leading knowledge process outsourcing company, Athreon launched a novel speech recognition solution for healthcare. The solution is said to help healthcare professionals to focus on patient care instead of administrative tasks and maintaining electronic health records. The speech recognition improves operational performance and workflow without compromising revenue generation and patient reporting.

Similarly, LumenVox, a leading speech recognition technology company announced the launch of its next-gen Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) engine with transcription. The technology is based on AI and deep machine learning, which helps in delivering accurate speech-enabled customer experience. The engine uses Deep Neural Network (DNN) architecture to add new languages and serve a wide range of customer bases.

Given the wide acceptance of speech recognition technology, more and more companies and startups have increased investments in the market. For instance, Deepgram, a prime company in the speech recognition industry, launched a $10 million speech recognition startup program to offer targeted companies customized speech models. The platform includes software development kits, revamped developer console, and API documentation.

The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted the flaw in several cutting-edge technologies and encourages companies to use speech recognition technology to communicate with their customers. During the pandemic, the technology quickly becomes from nice to have to must-have.

The integration of speech recognition technology with the Internet of Things (IoT) would open new opportunities. Already smartphones unlock on the basis of voice recognition alone. Over the next five years, the world would see speech recognition software installed into IoT mobile applications and users controlling a variety of smart devices using voice commands. The technology will become more accurate and reliable with developments in AI and deep machine learning.

However, there will be a few challenges with the wide adoption of this technology. The use of voice commands for a variety of operations pushes the boundaries of businesses. Google’s search algorithm has already considering improving SEO to offer better search results based on speech recognition technology. If Google’s search results prioritize voice commands, businesses need to adapt themselves and introduce voice search technology.

Although speech recognition would bring fundamental changes in many businesses, it is worth the change as it uses multiple combinations of techniques to improve user experience and it would save a lot of money in the long run, especially in healthcare. Even though speech recognition technology demands heavy installation costs, companies will spend less money and improving productivity and efficiency.

Author Bio

Swamini Kulkarni holds a bachelor’s degree in Instrumentation and control engineering from Pune University and works as a content writer at Allied Market Research. She is deeply fascinated by the impact of technology on human life and loves to talk about science and mythology.