ReleaseWire

New "Voice on Wheels" Report Reveals the Ins and Outs of in-Car Voice Technology

From Google and Amazon to Stellantis and Lamborghini, insiders shed light on one of the most intricate yet promising applications of voice assistance: the car

Posted: Wednesday, October 12, 2022 at 11:15 AM CDT

Milan, Italy -- (ReleaseWire) -- 07/20/2022 --Vocalime, the design and development studio specializing in conversational interfaces, has just released its "Voice on Wheels" report, which details the development of one of the areas where the adoption of voice technology is most mature, the automotive industry. The report offers new perspectives on this evolving space, through unique insights into user behavior, carmaker strategies and the future of in-car voice technology.

The research combines an overview of the knowledge thus far available in the field with original interviews conducted with experts operating on all sides of the business. These include voice tech providers from Google and Amazon to carmakers such as Stellantis and Lamborghini. Also included are solution providers like carmakers' testing partners Pulse Labs, conversation design platform par excellence Voiceflow and software implementation experts at BdSound. Interviews with voice app developers for in-car settings like LetMePark and MotorMouth as well as B2B voice assistant providers such as German Autolabs are also conducted.

Key findings from the report:

- Users use things that are useful to them. In the case of voice technology, the reason why in-car adoption is growing so quickly is that there is a clear product-market fit for it. It is faster and safer to issue commands by voice compared to graphical interfaces.

- Right now, the three most popular use cases for in-car voice tech are navigation, communication, and media consumption.

- In-car voice technology is yet another battlefield for Google and Amazon. According to their respective sources, Google seems to be extremely focused on building experiences around the top three use cases. On the other hand, Amazon is also demonstrating a deep interest in enhanced car control and car-related services, like paying for gas or finding parking spots by voice.

- From the perspective of carmakers, the most crucial strategic theme of the last few years has lied in the choice between a standard and a personalized voice assistant. However, this seems to be changing, as the two options appear to be converging.

- Voice assistants are already part of the purchasing decision for mass market car models. They aren't for other car types, especially on the more sporty end of the spectrum.

- The hardest question most experts are asking themselves is: Who will be the carmakers of the future? As the core of the business is moving more and more towards high tech, future car manufacturers might not be the same we know today.

"We've been working on several projects related to in-car voice technology and we realized that it was time for us to take a step back and look at things from a wider perspective", says Vittorio Molaschi, co-founder of Vocalime. "There's a lot of information scattered around about the topic. On the other hand, there's still a lot of uncertainty about how industry operators are moving. Thanks also to exclusive access to company representatives, we wanted to provide a complete and up-to-date resource for those who aim to gain unique insights on user behavior, carmaker strategies and the future of in-car voice technology".

"Voice on Wheels" is Vocalime's way to open up about the knowledge we have acquired and developed in this sector, to show the potential that voice technology unlocks on the road. Implementing voice assistance can offer a really broad range of benefits, although it is clear that such a high-stakes setting can pose serious challenges. This is where Vocalime's expertise can best be put to work, to support automotive sector operators in defining a curated and personalized voice strategy and creating high-quality in-car conversational experiences.

Conversational AI, in general, has been garnering increased attention in the last years, as professionals from a variety of industries have recognized its potential. The automotive sector is certainly a great example of this, but it is not the only one: healthcare, hospitality and banking are examples of industries that have been heavily investing in conversational experiences and already witnessing its benefits.

Access "Voice on Wheels" here.

About Vocalime
Vocalime is a design and development studio specializing in conversational interfaces. Vocalime supports companies all the way from Conversational AI strategy to technical implementation. Vocalime focuses on voice apps (Alexa Skills), custom AI assistants, chatbots and voicebots.

Media Contact
Giulia van den Winkel
Marketing & Communications Specialist
giulia@vocalime.com
(+39) 392 221 7191