By the way, what is a voice agent?
In plain English, when you use a wake word such as “Alexa”, you are invoking an agent. If you enabled a second agent, you would have another wake word to activate it. Imagine the many opportunities available to have several wake words/agents running at the same time, each one specialised in a particular brand or domain.
The Voice Interoperability Initiative (VII)
Early in 2020, Amazon and more than 30 leading technology companies announced the Voice Interoperability Initiative (VII), a new program with the mission to ensure voice-enabled products provide customers with choice and flexibility by supporting multiple voice agents simultaneously on a single device. In September 2020, Dolby, Facebook, Garmin, and Xiaomi have joined the initiative.
Multi-Agent Design Principles
There are 4 driving priorities:
1) Building voice-enabled devices that promote choice and flexibility through multiple, simultaneous wake words
2) Developing voice agents that can work seamlessly with others, while protecting the privacy and security of customers
3) Releasing technologies and solutions that make it easier to integrate multiple voice agents on a single product
4) Accelerating machine learning and conversational AI research to improve the breadth, quality and interoperability of voice services
Customer choice is a bedrock principle
Customers can choose from available voice agents by enabling the use of multiple, simultaneous wake words when more than one agent is registered on a device. Multi-agent products help customers find the agents that are available and explore their capabilities.
So, what does it mean for your customers and your business?
This technology looks fantastic. So, what? Well, imagine your brand having your own wake-up word. You don’t need to call Alexa, so then you talk to your brand. You remove friction and have a personalised engagement interaction.
References
[1] Voice Interoperability Initiative Welcomes Facebook, Garmin and Xiaomi and Releases First Multi-Agent Design Guide
