One of today’s biggest technological trends is the concept of the Intelligent Virtual Assistant. Tech giants like Apple, Google, and Amazon have invested heavily in developing products with Artificial Intelligence. Technological advances have made it possible for humans to talk to machines , thereby solving different types of problems and making our lives easier. In this post, you’ll learn what a virtual assistant is and how to use it to improve your work and daily routine.
Do you know what an intelligent virtual assistant is?
If you have an iPhone, you’ve probably talked to Siri at some point; or if you’re an Android fan, I bet you’ve said “OK, Google” to request a function from your phone. Virtual assistants are exactly that: robots that respond to voice commands; increasingly sophisticated and intelligent. These systems learn through interactions with consumers and continually improve their repertoire. The more they interact with people, the more they learn, and they’re moving beyond the phone screen to become business solutions and functional devices for the home; these are the famous Voice User Interfaces (VUIs).
To ensure a virtual assistant works in a home, for example, the devices must have certain characteristics to connect to each other; here we refer to the concept of the Internet of Things, or IoT .
What can I do with a smart virtual assistant?
The things you can do with this tool are diverse; if we’re talking about virtual home assistants, you can start by securing your home with smart locks and doorbells, or even security cameras. You asia mobile number list can also control the lights and temperature; know how long the products in your fridge last; play music and even laugh at its jokes; set your alarm clock, program the washing machine, schedule your day—in short, you can even talk to Hugo Sánchez from the Club de Cuervos , and I’m not kidding!
Virtual assistants for the business world
Virtual assistants aren’t just for home use; the business world has also seen a shift in the way it communicates with its customers.
>Companies are facing new challenges due to changing consumer habits; that is, they’re not talking to the same customer profile they had just 5 or 10 years ago. But why invest in virtual assistants? You’ve probably heard about chatbots and how this tool has improved the management of many companies. Virtual assistants are similar to chatbots; however, the difference between the two is that chatbots work within messaging systems, while virtual assistants work within a company’s own messaging applications with the same brand features.
As an example, we can talk about the solutions presented by IBM, with Watson, or Amazon’s Alexa for Business . We could talk about the different applications in each business, but we chose one that will surely be revolutionized by virtual assistants: the hotel sector</strong> .
Have you ever imagined staying in a hotel where if you choose the right contractor you could control everything with voice commands? This trend will undoubtedly be the future for this sector; and tech giants like Amazon’s Alexa and Apple’s Siri are already in the battle to win hotel rooms.
Virtual assistants
Although Alexa and Siri are the most well-known virtual assistants, the world of options is actually quite broad. Below, we’ll introduce you to some assistants with similar features, along with their respective devices.
Alexa
Alexa is one of the first virtual assistants to become popular. This virtual assistant is hosted on the Echo , a smart speaker also developed by Amazon. Inspired by the computer on the Star Trek starship Enterprise, Alexa also has business solutions ( Alexa for business ), with tools that aid work productivity, from opening or closing office blinds to scheduling appointments and managing video conferences.
Siri
This assistant has become famous thanks to its witty responses to very human questions, such as whether she has a boyfriend or what she thinks about a life dilemma. This tool, acquired by Apple and first launched in 2011, is available on all Apple devices, including the HomePod .
If you have Windows 10, you’ve probably spoken to saudi data Cortana, the Windows assistant available on Windows devices like computers, cell phones, and Xbox One. Cortana can also be hosted on Invoke , a smart speaker similar . To the Echo or Google Home, but not as popular or technologically advanced.
Bixby
The latter is Samsung’s virtual assistant , which comes as a feature on the Galaxy S8 and S8+ phones. Currently, this technology is only available on mobile devices; however, it has already been announced that it would also be integrated into the brand’s refrigerators. Samsung also has Otto , a prototype smart speaker with more sophisticated features like facial recognition and a camera, which plans to compete with Alexa and Google Home.
If you already use a virtual assistant, tell us about your experience in the comments. If you’d like to learn more about the digital world and web technology, sign up for our newsletter, where you’ll receive the best content every month.