Announcing the Open Voice Initiative

Toward voice assistance that is open: standards-based, interoperable, accessible, and data-protected

 As AI-enabled voice assistance grows in importance – especially for the retail and consumer goods industries – might it be better for consumers and brands if voice assistance was open: standards-based: interoperable, accessible, and data protected?

 That’s the question now being asked by leading US and European commerce enterprises, major tech firms, marketing agencies, and industry associations, all coming together under the banner of the Open Voice Initiative.

 At the heart of the Initiative is the recognition that voice assistance will soon be a primary (if not the most-used) interface to the internet and IOT systems; that, as availability and adoption grows, voice assistance will re-shape consumer behavior in all consumer-facing industries (and especially commerce industries); and, that these are the early days of the voice revolution – similar in many ways to the early days of the internet browser wars.

 Also at the heart of the Initiative is this critical question: given the benefits brought to commerce and society through the years by the introduction of standards, and “open” technologies, might the future of voice assistance be bigger and brighter for all if open --  interoperable, accessible, and data protected?

 To pursue this vision of open voice, a non-profit association of consumer-facing enterprises, technology companies, marketing firms, and university researchers is now in development.  It is pursuing three work-streams:  

·       Research: support of academic research of open voice standards and technologies – research that will lead to the proposal of standards, reference architectures, and open platforms;

·       Awareness: research, communication and peer sharing as to the opportunities, best practices and challenges of AI-voice technologies in consumer-facing industries;  

·       Advocacy:  support of the policy work of leading North American and European industry associations as it relates to AI-voice, especially on topics of privacy and data security.

 The Open Voice Initiative emerged from 2016-2017 research on the impact of  voice assistance on commerce (retail, consumer goods, and marketing) industries by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Auto-ID Laboratory, Capgemini Consulting, and the Intel Corporation. 

 At present,  it is being led on a day-to-day basis by Jon Stine, a former Intel Corporation and Cisco Systems executive with 30-plus years of experience in the commerce and technology industries.    He can be reached at jon.stine@openvoicenetwork.org.

Commerce Industry leaders on voice:

Gwen Morrison

CEO, The Americas at The Store/WPP Global Retail

“Voice has the potential to deliver the ultimate convenience and ease for consumers.  Brands will have the ability to engage with a more intimate and advisory consumer relationship.  But as voice-commerce begins to replace today’s point and click purchasing, retailers and brands face significant challenges for leveraging voice-first devices.  Protocols for “ active listening”  are in an infant stage . Is the personal shopping assistant listening or is the brand listening?

“Also to keep up with the role of voice across devises, a new architecture for identifying shopper intent will be required. For example, offering choices without a visual is just one consideration for designing a new approach to “ search-endising”. The localization of search will  accelerate. From the design of new user-experiences to the sound of a brand, it is the next era of commerce transformation.”

 Vicki Cantrell

Co-founder, Vendors in Partnership

Formerly Executive Director, SVP for Communities, Shop.org

 “The continuing imperative for retail is to make the customer experience perfect for that customer. While the levers a retailer pulls must be appropriate for their brand and brand promise, shoppers expect experiences that align with the smart technology they are already using. Today, with well over three billion devices worldwide with voice assistants installed, the opportunities of voice to impact retail go beyond just shopping, enabling a deeper connection to the customer’s life and offering a much wider range of engagement.

 “Command-driven retail satisfies many of the consumer’s desires, including efficiency, engagement, empowerment, curation, and service, and the opportunities will expand exponentially with continued adoption and ubiquitous “listeners”.

 Massimo Volpe

Chairman, FIRA (Federation of International Retail Associations)

Managing Director Retail Institute Italy

 “Our Industry is facing an era where digital and physical are switching roles, for selling and for marketing and communication. Because of this blurring situation, we must push to create more cooperation across technologies and providers in order to build up our future together.

 “Studying the evolution of commerce,  I find AI-voice to be one of the most impactful and interesting innovations.  In the far future it will probably be enough just to think about what we want in order to have the package ringing at our door. As of today though, we can already have conversations with a voice that knows us and that can do shopping for us.”

Kees Jacobs

Vice-President for Global Consumer Products & Retail, Capgemini Consulting

 “Our recent research is clearly indicating that both consumers and organizations are rapidly adopting conversational interfaces. Conversational assistants are becoming the trusted companions of consumers, who increasingly prefer voice assistants as they allow for multi-tasking at their convenience.

“The research indicates that three years from now, consumers will prefer using voice to other mediums for all interactions in the consumer products and retail sector, whether it is in store, in their cars or in their homes. But it is also clear that organizations should focus on gaining consumer trust. The Open Voice Network is the right initiative to help companies doing the right things, serving consumers in the right way.”

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