Voiceportal
Encyclopedia
Voice portals are the voice equivalent of Web Portal
s, giving access to information through spoken commands and voice responses. Ideally a voice portal could be an access point for any type of information, services, or transactions found on the Internet
. Common uses include movie time listings and stock trading.
In telecommunications circles, Voice portals may be referred to as Interactive Voice Response
(IVR) systems, but this term also includes DTMF services.
For example, most Internet users try a search term, scan results, then adjust the search term to eliminate irrelevant results. They may take two or three quick iterations to get a list that they are confident will contain what they are looking for. The equivalent approach is not practical when results are spoken, as it would take far too long. In this case, a multimodal interaction
would be preferable to a voice-only interface.
Live-agent portals are introducing greater automation through speech recognition and text-to-speech technology, in many cases providing fully automated service, while automated Internet-based portals are adding operator fallback in premium services. The live-agent portals, which used to rely entirely on pre-structured databases holding specific types of information are expanding into more free-form Internet access, while the Internet-based portals are adding pre-structured content to improve automation of the more common types of request.
Speech technology is starting to introduce Artificial Intelligence
concepts that make it practical
to recognise a much broader range of utterances, learning from experience. This promises to make it practical to greatly improve speaker recognition rates and expand the range of information that can be provided by a voice portal.
Quack.com
launched its service in March 2000 and has since obtained the first overall voiceportal patent.
Quack.com
was acquired by AOL
in 2000 and relaunched as AOL By Phone later that year. Tellme Networks
was acquired by Microsoft
in 2007.
Nuance
, the dominant provider of speech recognition and text-to-speech technology, is starting to deliver voice portal solutions. Other companies in this space include FonGenie
, Apptera and Call Genie.
Apart from public Voice Portal services, a number of technology companies, including Alcatel-Lucent
, Avaya
, and Cisco
, offer commercial enterprise-grade Voice Portal products to be used by companies to serve their clients. Avaya
also has a carrier-grade portfolio.
Web portal
A web portal or links page is a web site that functions as a point of access to information in the World Wide Web. A portal presents information from diverse sources in a unified way....
s, giving access to information through spoken commands and voice responses. Ideally a voice portal could be an access point for any type of information, services, or transactions found on the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
. Common uses include movie time listings and stock trading.
In telecommunications circles, Voice portals may be referred to as Interactive Voice Response
Interactive voice response
Interactive voice response is a technology that allows a computer to interact with humans through the use of voice and DTMF keypad inputs....
(IVR) systems, but this term also includes DTMF services.
Advantages
- No dependency on the access device; even low end mobile handsets can access the service
- Voice portals talk to users in their local language
- Reduced customer learning required for using voice services compared to Internet/SMS based services
Limitations
Voice is the most natural communication medium, but the information that can be provided is limited compared to visual media.For example, most Internet users try a search term, scan results, then adjust the search term to eliminate irrelevant results. They may take two or three quick iterations to get a list that they are confident will contain what they are looking for. The equivalent approach is not practical when results are spoken, as it would take far too long. In this case, a multimodal interaction
Multimodal interaction
Multimodal interaction provides the user with multiple modes of interfacing with a system. A multimodal interface provides several distinct tools for input and output of data.- Multimodal input :...
would be preferable to a voice-only interface.
Trends
Live-agent and Internet-based voice portals are converging, and the range of information they can provide is expanding.Live-agent portals are introducing greater automation through speech recognition and text-to-speech technology, in many cases providing fully automated service, while automated Internet-based portals are adding operator fallback in premium services. The live-agent portals, which used to rely entirely on pre-structured databases holding specific types of information are expanding into more free-form Internet access, while the Internet-based portals are adding pre-structured content to improve automation of the more common types of request.
Speech technology is starting to introduce Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
concepts that make it practical
to recognise a much broader range of utterances, learning from experience. This promises to make it practical to greatly improve speaker recognition rates and expand the range of information that can be provided by a voice portal.
Technology Providers
A number of web-based companies are dedicated to providing voice-based access to Internet information to consumers.Quack.com
Quack.com
AOLByPhone was an AOL interactive voice service that began in 2000. It was offered to millions of consumers. AOLByPhone started with the America Online acquisition of Quack.com, evolving through the subsequent relaunching of Quack.com's Voice Portal as AOLByPhone. AOLbyPhone expanded as AOL...
launched its service in March 2000 and has since obtained the first overall voiceportal patent.
Quack.com
Quack.com
AOLByPhone was an AOL interactive voice service that began in 2000. It was offered to millions of consumers. AOLByPhone started with the America Online acquisition of Quack.com, evolving through the subsequent relaunching of Quack.com's Voice Portal as AOLByPhone. AOLbyPhone expanded as AOL...
was acquired by AOL
AOL
AOL Inc. is an American global Internet services and media company. AOL is headquartered at 770 Broadway in New York. Founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, it has franchised its services to companies in several nations around the world or set up international versions of its services...
in 2000 and relaunched as AOL By Phone later that year. Tellme Networks
Tellme Networks
Tellme. Networks, Inc. is a company founded in 1999 by Mike McCue and Angus Davis, based out of Mountain View, California, in the United States, that specializes in telephone-based applications....
was acquired by Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
in 2007.
Nuance
Nuance Communications
Nuance Communications is a multinational computer software technology corporation, headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts, USA, that provides speech and imaging applications...
, the dominant provider of speech recognition and text-to-speech technology, is starting to deliver voice portal solutions. Other companies in this space include FonGenie
FonGenie
FonGenie is an online Software as a Service company enabling retail and small business to turn telephone calls from customers into sales. Loaded with easy-to-implement features from the Web, FonGenie allows business owners to create and monitor on-the-fly interactive daily specials and promotions...
, Apptera and Call Genie.
Apart from public Voice Portal services, a number of technology companies, including Alcatel-Lucent
Alcatel-Lucent
Alcatel-Lucent is a global telecommunications corporation, headquartered in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, France. It provides telecommunications solutions to service providers, enterprises, and governments around the world, enabling these customers to deliver voice, data, and video services...
, Avaya
Avaya
Avaya Inc. is a privately held computer networking, information technology and telecommunications company that is a global provider of business communications systems. The international head quarters is in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, United States...
, and Cisco
Cisco
Cisco may refer to:Companies:*Cisco Systems, a computer networking company* Certis CISCO, corporatised entity of the former Commercial and Industrial Security Corporation in Singapore...
, offer commercial enterprise-grade Voice Portal products to be used by companies to serve their clients. Avaya
Avaya
Avaya Inc. is a privately held computer networking, information technology and telecommunications company that is a global provider of business communications systems. The international head quarters is in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, United States...
also has a carrier-grade portfolio.