AI Glossary
Voice Assistant – Short Explanation
A voice assistant is an AI-powered interface that enables users to interact with technology using natural spoken language. Found in smartphones, smart speakers, vehicles, and IoT devices, voice assistants like Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant respond to voice commands to perform everyday tasks—such as playing music, controlling devices, setting reminders, or answering questions. Behind the scenes, these assistants rely on large-scale voice datasets, speech recognition, and natural language processing to understand and act on user intent in real time.
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Voice assistants in the Real World
A voice assistant can be known by a variety of different terms based on the functions it is performing. It could be considered an intelligent personal assistant, for example, if used to conduct web searches and obtain information. Alternatively, when used as a tool to make bookings and reservations, it could be thought of as an automated personal assistant. When used with smart speakers that listen for a specific keyword, it could be considered a smart assistant. Regardless of the terminology used, a voice assistant listens for and responds to voices.
Voice assistants are all around us. While most prevalent in smartphones and smart speakers, they are often found in vehicles too. Their use is only growing, and it is expected that by the end of 2021, unique consumer uses of digital assistants will rise to close to 1.8 billion. Researchers and scientists have a vision of voice assistants becoming a smart bridge between humans and the knowledge and tools available online.
Tip:
High-performance voice assistants require diverse, multilingual audio datasets to accurately interpret speech across accents, dialects, and environments.
LXT provides high-quality, annotated voice data at scale, ensuring your voice assistant delivers accurate, responsive interactions across global markets.
Voice assistants in the World of AI
Voice assistants came to the forefront with Siri in 2011, but now they are present in homes around the world. In fact, one in six Americans have smart speakers in their home, and the number of smartphone users worldwide is near 3.5 billion. Voice assistants benefit from their integration with IoT and AI. With smart thermostats, appliances, cameras and lights growing in popularity, the functionality that voice assistants can provide is only growing. Voice is becoming an ever more crucial way of interacting and companies continue to look for new ways of integrating voice into their products.