Call Recording Software Featured Article

Speech Recognition is Ready for Big Things

Call recording software encompasses many technologies in the world of the call center, and one that is gaining a lot of momentum in 2014 is speech recognition, according to a recent report from Frost & Sullivan (News - Alert).

In the context of call recording, speech recognition programs can be used to authenticate users by voice alone—saving existing customers from the time and frustration of having to give agents all of their personal information every time they call. Speech recognition programs can also be used to glean valuable information from calls, in conjunction with call recording, such as monitoring and detecting the tone in which a caller or agent is speaking. Additionally, rather than having to use the keypad to input information, speech recognition technology is often used by contact centers as a means for callers to navigate through a service menu.

Beyond the world of the contact center, however, speech recognition is being applied to call kinds of devices and programs. People are beginning to be able to control their computers, phones, TVs, and even cars using voice commands. In a report titled “Innovations in Gesture and Speech Recognition for Consumer Electronics (Technical Insights),” the researchers at Frost & Sullivan have predicted that, while in years past speech recognition was seen as too far-fetched and futuristic, consumers and developers alike are embracing the technology—and it’s likely that it will find its way into everyday appliances and more in the next few years.

“Innovation in speech and gesture recognition technologies for consumer electronics should primarily focus on improving user experience,” the report found, “in terms of speed, accuracy, and functionality.” Contact centers have long understood the importance of the customer experience, and speech recognition by its very nature is tailored to making the user’s experience more fluid and intuitive. Implementing the technology in everyday devices makes a lot of sense.

The report goes on to add that “the consumer electronics industry caters to a wide variety of users with an exhaustive product portfolio, ranging from mobile phone to home security systems, where gesture and speech recognition will add immense application value.” It looks like the consumer market is finally catching onto a secret that call centers and call recording software providers have know all along—that speech recognition technology is a powerful way to enhance the user experience.


Edited by Rory J. Thompson