These days, everyone understands the value of user experience. The most important part of it is the user interface (UI), which connects your service and the person on the other side of the screen. Trying to make communication more efficient, developers are testing unconventional approaches, including conversational interfaces and chatbots.
The conversational UI is the latest web development trend. Leading companies in the virtual world (Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Facebook) are working on the next generation of UI.
Let’s consider the possibilities of using conversational interfaces on a website.
Speech recognition systems and conversational interfaces
Generally speaking, a conversational UI is an interface design that allows the user to communicate with real people or bots. Such a system allows you to interact with machines using your voice.
Like chatbots, conversational user interfaces are becoming mainstream. They are penetrating literally every area of modern life. Today we can see them on smartphones, in smart homes, TVs, and other high-tech products.
The rapid development of voice interaction in everyday life makes it clear that this technology will soon become an alternative to graphical user interfaces.
Benefits of conversational UI
There are several benefits of using a conversational interface:
- Fast communication. People process auditory information much faster than the rest. Typing is not as fast or convenient. The average person speaks up to 16,000 words a day, so voice interaction with a website will be easy and enjoyable.
- A more natural way to interact. Voice communication is familiar. Voice communication allows people to be more relaxed and open and increases conversions.
- Doesn’t require learning. Unlike today’s graphical interfaces, which are intuitive only on paper, conversational UI does not force users to learn the meaning of certain buttons and commands. Everything is based on natural human speech.
- Voice conveys personality. People subconsciously equate the sound of human speech with personality. Speed, tone, and other voice parameters can be used by businesses to create the right impression and maintain brand loyalty.
- Accessibility. The number of deaf-blind users is potentially lower than the number of visually impaired and motor-impaired people combined. For this broad category, using a graphical UI in its current form is very difficult.
How businesses use the voice interface
A conversational user interface to simplify routine tasks
Voice interfaces, like chatbots, help save time on routine tasks. Checking the weather, setting the alarm clock, answering an incoming message, finding a prescription – these are the nerdy tasks we spend our lives on.
Of course, all of them can be done with a traditional GUI, but the user will have to pick up his smartphone and be distracted by the screen. There are times when a voice interface is preferable, such as driving a car or during a lunch break.
Improved voice assistants
Voice assistants are quickly becoming an integral part of the digital experience.
New technologies will make it easier to provide a personalized digital experience. A personal assistant can not only understand our current needs but also predict future ones. It comes in handy in all aspects of life, even in areas you’ve never thought about.
Comprehensive brand interaction
Using a voice interface is useful for multi-step operations.
Suppose you want to return a product you bought to a store. Instead of doing it through several different channels (e.g., finding an email with order details, filling out a return form, and contacting customer support by phone), you can achieve similar results through a single conversation UI contact.
From disparate apps to a single platform
Today, the Internet and mobile technology are a mess of information. When users want to buy something or order a service, they need to download an app and create an account. That’s where the potential for voice technology development lies.
Conversational UI allows you to combine different apps and accounts in an interaction. Why download an app to book a flight or order a cab when you can just have one interface do it? It’s as simple as ordering an Uber cab with Amazon Echo.
The way to interact with IoT devices
t’s not just your computer and smartphone that are connected to the Internet. Every year, smart thermostats, light bulbs, kettles, coffee makers, refrigerators, and other appliances appear, creating a new world of the Internet of Things (IoT).
Not all of this hardware, of course, is suitable for a graphical user interface. Using conversational user interfaces can easily integrate IoT devices into our environment.
The power of computers for one and all
As we’ve said before, not everyone can take advantage of traditional GUIs. Millions of people around the world, due to old age, illness, and disability, are deprived of the comfort that you are so used to. Voice UIs will give the power of a computer to anyone who can’t use a keyboard or monitor.
Conversational interfaces are the new reality
Conversational interfaces as an element of software design are changing the way people interact with machines every day. Understanding the benefits of these interfaces can help you decide whether they are suitable for your website or mobile app.
