Voice User Interfaces For Web Development and Beyond

Advances in natural language processing and AI have led to sweeping changes in everything from banking to content creation. A voice user interface (VUI) is a subset of these evolving technologies, and its stunning implications for web development are only just fully being discovered now. Discover what a VUI means in web development with this Coalition guide.

Is a VUI Worth The Hype?

VUIs are interfaces that allow users to control systems using voice commands, creating a fully hands-free experience. The most visible examples of this technology are popular voice assistants like Alexa and Siri, or voice search on platforms like YouTube. 

That said, these interfaces are a lot more than just a natural way to surf the web. Let’s look at why voice user interfaces have been making waves in technical fields like web dev.

• Accessibility: VUIs are a must-have in a world that prioritizes accessibility for all. Many websites throw in the bare minimum in terms of accessibility features like night mode and magnification, leaving a ton of room for improvement.
  
  Support for VUIs in web development means that a wide range of differently-abled users can now fully access your website. People with motor difficulties, cognitive impairments, and visual impairments all stand to benefit from a VUI.
  
  Language barriers often fly under the radar in accessibility discussions, but they are just as important as other limitations – particularly for those in the ecommerce space. A voice user interface opens up your website to a global audience, allowing them to interact with it as if it were in their native language. Tech-savvy agencies are taking this further by combining translation APIs with a VUI, creating pages that automatically get translated depending on the user’s location.
  
• Efficiency: Less can be more when it comes to UX. Incorporating VUIs in enterprise web development can completely revamp how we look at workflows and multitask. Instead of keeping multiple tabs open to accomplish a task, users can just issue a voice command to get it done in a single window. Modern voice user interfaces support multi-step commands, allowing users to chain multiple tasks together in a single sentence instead of waiting until one command has been completed.
  
• Customization: Graphical user interfaces, or GUIs, limit interaction by offering users a select few options to choose from. Think of how right-clicking on a desktop icon gives you a preset list of options.
  
  VUIs can open the door for personalized experiences based on user input. Instead of figuring out a way around the limitations of a GUI, users just have to state what they want to do and let the VUI handle the rest. 

How Do Voice User Interfaces Work?

We can break down web development VUIs into a few key components:

• Recognition: Speech recognition is the foundation of every VUI. At this step, the interface processes the initial input and transcribes it into text using algorithms like a Hidden Markov Model or N-grams.
  
• Natural Language Processing: This is where the converted text is processed. The interface derives the underlying meaning of the input to determine what the user wants to achieve. This intent is then matched with the right action. For example, if a user asks the software to find the square root of 216, the system will tag it as a calculation query.
  
• Execution: After processing the inputs and identifying the proper action, the system moves to execution. This could involve anything from looking up flight timings to opening a program.
  
• Response: The voice user interface displays the answer the user wants or informs them that the requested action has been completed. 

Applications of VUIs

Ecommerce

Ecommerce has been one of the first spaces to aggressively adopt VUIs for web development and optimize them for conversions. In fact, 60% of US shoppers already use voice assistants for weekly purchases.

Larger stores with hundreds or even thousands of products can be incredibly time-consuming to navigate for the average user, and will likely need an intuitive navigation solution to avoid increased cart abandonment. VUIs can solve this by cutting through the fluff with a single command.

Even a simple voice search feature can work here. Visitors describe the kind of product they are looking for, and a properly optimized store can pull it up in seconds. Keep in mind that this isn’t as easy as just dragging and dropping a voice user interface into your store. Content needs to be optimized for voice queries and commands since they often involve long-tail keywords.

A VUI used for web development can do much more than just basic search. A 5-minute checkout process can now be completed in seconds if a store leverages VUIs properly. Shoppers can select a product, fill in their details, and checkout using a digital wallet without ever touching a keypad. 

Successful ecommerce brands understand the importance of building a hassle-free shopping experience, and this addition is a game-changer. 

Automotives

Most modern luxury cars and even mid-range sedans now leave the factory with in-built voice user interfaces. If you’ve ever asked a car to set a navigation route, you’ve interacted with a VUI. Other features include:

• Voice commands for easy climate control.
• Voice control makes multitasking easier and, more importantly, safer for drivers.
• VUIs can be integrated with third-party apps like Apple Music.

Entertainment

AI-powered covers of popular songs are just about everywhere on the internet now. Beyond web development, VUIs can take this further by allowing users to enjoy a generative interactive experience that can change depending on voice inputs. As far-fetched as that might sound, we can already see this next-gen tech in commercial use. 

• Games: The recent AI-powered game, ‘ Vaudeville’, made waves by implementing a voice user interface. Players in Vaudeville are charged with solving a murder mystery by using their microphones to talk to a list of suspects. The game receives and processes voice inputs and then uses generative AI to produce natural responses to questions and commands.
  
• Music: YouTube’s new collaboration with Google DeepMind has recently produced an exciting new tool: Dream Track. This tool combines a VUI and AI to generate a fully produced music track using just one input: the user’s humming. This entire process takes just a few seconds and is a promising example of the content creation tools we could see in the future.

Two-Way Communication: The Future of VUI

The future of VUIs for web development and beyond will likely differ starkly from the landscape we see today. This is because our traditional understanding of voice user interfaces involves one-way communication, with the user inputting commands. As cloud computing power and AI efficiency increase, it won’t be long before we see the advent of two-way communication with VUIs.

• Customer Service: One-third of customers will abandon their outreach and never try again if they don’t get a quick response from a customer service representative. Two-way VUIs can completely solve this core customer service problem in the future.
  
  Since two-way interfaces will feature little to no delay and resemble a normal human phone call, shoppers can receive quick support without waiting for the office to open. It’s hard to say whether this will immediately replace call centers, but it will certainly reduce the burden for workers.
  
• Simulated Conversations: AI can already mimic an artist’s voice based on a 30-second audio clip. We could see this type of tech leapfrog using a two-way voice user interface, simulating celebrities and loved ones and allowing users to converse naturally with them.
  
• Assistants: Advanced VUIs for web development could allow for the creation of true virtual assistants who can understand and remember commands, offer feedback, and check in on workers if needed. Such assistants could radically change how we work in the future, taking care of advanced tasks and leaving humans to focus on other matters.

This will, of course, all depend on how privacy and AI-centric legislations pan out worldwide. Additionally, simulating loved ones and even celebrities presents a murky gray area that businesses are just now beginning to navigate, as we can see with the discussion around Deepfakes. 

Next-Gen Web Development Begins Now

The accelerating pace of breakthroughs in voice user interfaces has opened up a world of new possibilities for keen-eyed businesses. Brands that can adapt to these changes quickly will benefit immensely from a first-mover’s advantage. Upgrade your website with a future-forward web development agency that leverages VUIs and the latest in SEO to build high-ranking stores and unforgettable user experiences. Contact Coalition Technologies today for a free consultation.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Is VUI the same as voice search? 

Voice search is just one of the many things enabled by a VUI. These interfaces can do much more than search, giving users the freedom to navigate websites hands-free, fill in forms, and even create new media.

What are voice user interfaces?

In absolute basic terms, these interfaces bridge the gap between a user and a system through their voice. VUIs lower the barrier to entry for tech and allow users to operate their software with voice commands.

Is it hard to add a VUI to a website?

No, not with the right guidance. Trusted web development agencies can seamlessly integrate a VUI with your existing website or help you build a new one with many more features. Certain ecommerce platforms also provide native support for voice recognition, but an in-house custom solution allows you to do much more.