Conversational AI: Lesson 2 – Find a Meaningful Opportunity

Topics
Voice-plus
Author
Erin Abler
Publication Date
25 November 2019

Conversational AI: Lesson 2 – Find a Meaningful Opportunity

In my previous post, I outlined four key steps for reliably uncovering great use cases for voice and shared some thoughts on step 1: Start with what you know. (If you haven’t read it, I recommend starting with that post.) 

For today’s post, I’m sharing some strategies for step 2: Find a meaningful opportunity.

8 Opportunities to Use Conversational AI

When looking for meaningful ways to use conversational AI, it may help to start with some broad categories – areas in which other organizations have demonstrated the value of AI-powered voice. One of my favorite sources comes from Voicebot.ai, which has identified eight key ways that voice apps are being used. As you brainstorm, consider how one of these eight categories might align with your business strategy:

  1. Generating awareness – using voice to provide a specific type of experience so people know who you are and what you offer
  2. Creating engagement – drawing people into an exciting opportunity to learn and have fun
  3. Facilitating ecommerce – enabling people to make a purchase or move money using voice
  4. Enabling distribution – using voice to disseminate content, complementing traditional online and print channels
  5. Sharing information – providing industry-specific tips and advice via voice
  6. Servicing customers – allowing people to call your contact center through voice-controlled devices
  7. Integrating into a product – weaving voice into your product’s functionality 
  8. Improving operations – using voice to automate repetitive, time-consuming tasks 

Join Existing Conversations

When you’re first starting out in voice, it’s best to limit your efforts to just one of those categories. Voice differs from some other channels in that it benefits from a narrow functional focus. Tackling more than one isn’t a guaranteed value-add, so try it only if you have a strong strategic reason to do so.

Once you’ve examined your business processes, strategies, campaigns, and goals, you can begin to consider how and where the opportunities for voice exist. The best candidates will be those where people are already having related conversations, making voice an intuitive channel. There also needs to be a benefit for using voice over a screen-based experience. One example is using voice to ask a question or retrieve information that would otherwise require multiple taps, swipes, or clicks. 

Another great candidate for voice is a situation where a user is multitasking; driving and cooking are two prime examples. Voice can be a very handy helper when eyes and hands are otherwise occupied. See how we helped Nestlé with a voice-plus solution centered around the GoodNes skill for Amazon Alexa, a virtual cooking assistant that allows users to follow recipes in an easy, step-by-step fashion. This experience made it easy for users to browse, select, and prepare recipes all built on the tools and services of the AWS platform.

Consider Context

At the same time, it’s important to be mindful of whether and when users would be willing to speak freely versus when they would desire greater privacy. While someone might be willing to play a game using voice in their living room with family and friends, they may not be as open to researching a personal topic via a voice assistant in front of their family, or even in the privacy of their own home, if the information is sensitive. Those tasks may be best performed discreetly via screen, or by making a phone call in a more private setting.

As you work to identify meaningful opportunities, we can help you think through the context, value, and shared goals that will increase the odds of a successful investment in conversational AI.

In my next post, I’ll weigh in on determining scope once you identify a great use case.  

Want to learn more, or have a question about this post? Contact me directly: eabler@mobiquityinc.com.

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