voice computing
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Alexa for Business opens up to third-party device makers
Last year, Amazon announced a new initiative, Alexa for Business, designed to introduce its voice assistant technology and Echo devices into a corporate setting. Today, it’s giving the platform a big upgrade by opening it up to device makers who are building their own solutions that have Alexa built in.
The change came about based on feedback from the existing organizations where Alexa for Business is today being used, Amazon says. The company claims thousands of businesses have added an Amazon Echo alongside their existing office equipment since the program’s debut last year, including companies like Express Trucking, Fender and Propel Insurance, for example.
But it heard from businesses that they want to have Alexa built in to existing devices, to minimize the amount of technology they need to manage and monitor.
The update will allow device makers building with the Alexa Voice Service (AVS) SDK to now create products that can be registered with Alexa for Business, and managed as shared devices across the organization.
The device management capabilities include the ability to configure things like the room designation and location and monitor the device’s health, as well as manage which public and private skills are assigned to the shared devices.
A part of Alexa for Business is the ability for organizations to create their own internal — and practical — skills for a business setting, like voice search for employee directories, Salesforce data or company calendar information.
Amazon also recently launched its own feature for Alexa for Business users that offers the ability for staff to book conference rooms.
Amazon says it’s already working with several brands on integrating Alexa into their own devices, including Plantronics, iHome and BlackBerry. And it’s working with solution providers like Linkplay and Extron, it says. (Citrix has also begun to integrate with the “for Business” platform.)
“We’ve been using Alexa for Business since its launch by pairing Echo devices with existing Polycom equipment,” noted Laura Marx, VP of Alliance Marketing at Plantronics, in a statement about its plans to make equipment that works with Alexa. “Integrating those experiences directly into products like Polycom Trio will take our customer experience to the next level of convenience and ease of use,” she said.
Plantronics provided an early look at the Alexa experience earlier this year, and iHome has an existing device with Alexa built in – the iAVS16. However, it has not yet announced which product will be offered through Alexa for Business.
It’s still too soon to see how well any of Amazon’s business initiatives with Alexa pay off — after all, Echo devices today are often used for consumer-orientated purposes like playing music, getting news and information, setting kitchen timers and making shopping lists. But if Amazon is able to penetrate businesses with Echo speakers and other Alexa-powered business equipment, it could make inroads into a profitable voice market, beyond the smart home.
But not everyone believes Alexa in the workplace is a good idea. Hackers envision how the devices could be used for corporate espionage and hacks, and warn that companies with trade secrets shouldn’t have listening devices set around their offices.
Amazon, however, is plodding ahead. It has even integrated with Microsoft’s Cortana so Alexa can gain access to Cortana’s knowledge of productivity features like calendar management, day at a glance and customer email.
The Alexa for Business capabilities are provided as an extension to the AVS Device SDK, starting with version 1.10, available to download from GitHub.
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You can try Siri Shortcuts today in these iOS 12-ready apps
With today’s release of iOS 12, Apple is also rolling out a new feature called Siri Shortcuts, which allows users to create their own voice commands to take actions in apps. For example, you could create a shortcuts for ordering your morning coffee, playing your favorite music, getting your daily schedule, and much more. In preparation for the iOS 12 launch, a number of app developers have already added support for Siri Shortcuts – sometimes even through a dedicated button in their app – in order to help nudge users towards adoption.
You can configure Siri Shortcuts in iOS Settings or create more complex voice commands using Apple’s new Shortcuts app, also out today. But these are things that will appeal more to power users – at least for the time being.
Mainstream users, meanwhile, will likely come across Siri Shortcuts for the first time when using their favorite iOS apps.
With iOS 12, app developers can integrate an “Add to Siri” button right in their app’s interface for common tasks that their app can perform – like playing a favorite playlist, for instance.
When a user taps this button, they’ll be directed to a screen where they can record their own custom voice command to launch whatever task or action the developer is suggesting.
In time, a number of apps will roll out this functionality.
But if you’re keen to play with it today, on day one, here are some of the early adopters of this feature.
A new playlist isn’t the only update Pandora is rolling out today – it’s also one of the first apps to launch a Siri Shortcuts button. With the app’s iOS 12-optimized update, users can head to the Settings in the Pandora app and tap “Add to Siri.” They can then choose a specific station, album, or playlist and record a custom phrase to say the next time they want to hear it.
Habit-tracker Streaks is also among the first to include an “Add to Siri” button. When tapped, users can record custom phrases to complete their tasks. That way you can say things in a more natural style – like, “Hey Siri, I drank my water,” or “I ate healthy today.”
Always an early adopter, the popular calculator app has added a Siri Shortcut button that will let you record voice commands for any common activity in the app, like converting currencies, setting the clipboard, opening conversions, and more.
PCalc 3.8 is available on the store now! Full support for iOS 12 and Siri Shortcuts, plus all the new devices.
Also includes my whimsy for this year, a lovely set of animated iMessage stickers by @dlanham featuring Pascal, the PCalc panda.
Get it here: https://t.co/ATSqnOi7BS pic.twitter.com/e7uunS7PIw
— James Thomson (@jamesthomson) September 15, 2018
The funny and sarcastic weather application CARROT Weather added support for Siri Shortcuts so you can ask for a short-term or long-term forecast for your location or any other location you’ve saved in the app.
If you prefer a more traditional weather app, The Weather Channel is also out with Siri Shortcuts support today, too, so you can check your forecast with a voice command.
To do list app Things represents a good use case for Siri Shortcuts, as you can create voice commands for common actions you take in the app, then have them also appear on your Lock screen. For instance, you could ask Siri to “Show Today” or “Add To-Do.” You can even record shortcuts for things you add to your to-do list app a lot, like lists of movies you want to see or errands you need to run.
When you say “Hey Siri, add an errand,” Things will launch a new to-do with everything filled in, including the tags, so all you have to do is enter the title and save.
There are also ready-made to-do’s available for things that are always the same, like a packing list or a favorite recipe. And using the new Shortcuts app, you can combine multiple shortcuts from different apps into one workflow.
Longtime favorite app Sky Guide, a map to the night sky, now lets you ask questions about the stars using your voice. With Siri Shortcuts, you can say “Hey Siri, what start is that?” (or something else you choose) after pointing your phone at a bright star, planet, or satellite.
Siri Shortcuts is already better than I was expecting. #siri #iOS12 @viticci SkyGuide has a clever implementation. pic.twitter.com/lbsS3SaYkR
— Alan Miller (@rosewoodat5th) September 17, 2018
The handy transit navigation app has also just rolled out support for Siri Shortcuts with an option that will let you say things like “Hey Siri, check my commute,” to have Siri read out info on disruptions, departures and your expected ETA. You can also ask it to route your way home, check departures, and more.
An unexpected addition, all things considered – but this top news application is already live with Siri Shortcuts support, allowing readers to use voice command to navigate to their favorite news sources and other frequent destinations.
The top-rated travel planner is ready to support Siri Shortcuts today, allowing you to configure custom voice commands for common travel tasks like getting your flight details or asking about your other travel plans.
This top organizer app lets you use Siri Shortcuts to create custom phrases to open up specific cards or boards you’ve created, with its iOS 12-ready update.
This job search app will save you from repeatedly typing in the same queries, by allowing you to create a Siri Shortcut for your favorite searches instead.
This focused and elegant note-taking app will now let you create notes with the sound of your voice – just head to Settings, Siri & Search, All Shortcuts to start building your own custom commands.
Writing editor Ulysses lets you use Shortcuts to open sheets and groups, create new sheets, and more.
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Sharecuts is creating a community for sharing Siri Shortcuts
With the upcoming release of iOS 12, Apple is introducing a new app called Shortcuts that will allow users to build custom voice commands for Siri that can be used to kick off a variety of actions in apps. While some apps will directly prompt users to add a Shortcut to Siri, the new Shortcuts app will offer more shortcut suggestions to try, plus the ability to create your own shortcuts and workflows. Now, there’s a new resource for shortcut fans, too – Sharecuts, a directory of shortcuts created and shared by the community.
The site is still very much in the early stages.
Plus, iOS 12 is still in beta testing itself, and the Shortcuts app can only be installed by developers who request access via an invite.
But by the time iOS 12 releases to the public later this fall, Sharecuts’ directory will be filled out and a lot more functional.
The premise, explains Sharecuts’ creator Guilherme Rambo, was to make an easily accessible place where people could share their shortcuts with one another, discover those others have shared, and suggest improvements to existing shortcuts.
“I was talking to a friend [Patrick Balestra] about how cool shortcuts are, and how it should be easier for people to share and discover shortcuts,” says Guilherme. “He mentioned he wanted to build a website for that – he even had the idea for the name Sharecuts – but he was on vacation without a good internet connection so I decided to just build it myself in one day,” he says.
The site is currently a bare bones, black-and-white page with cards for each shortcut, but an update will bring a more colorful style (see below) and features that will allow users to filter the shortcuts by tags, vote on favorites, among other things.
Above: current site
Guilherme says while the backend is being built to support a larger number of users, only a few people have been invited to upload for the time being. But in the upcoming release, the site will offer a “featured” selection of shortcuts chosen by some well-known members of the Apple community who will serve as curators.
The uploads to the site will also be moderated in the future, to prevent malicious shortcuts and spam from being included in the directory.
The site itself isn’t a new business or startup, Guilherme says, just a side project for now.
It’s written in Swift and open-sourced on GitHub so others can contribute. The page already has a list of ideas for improvements to the Sharecuts site, including the new design, plus more ways to refine, sort, and organize the shortcuts.
It remains to be seen how popular Siri Shortcuts will be with the mainstream iPhone user base.
With iOS 12, Apple is turning its iPhone into an “A.I. phone,” but I believe the Shortcuts app and workflows will remain a power user feature for some time. Mainstream users will gradually warm up to the idea of customizing their Siri interactions by getting prompted to create voice commands by their favorite apps. (E.g. Your coffee shop’s mobile ordering app may push you to add a “Coffee time!” shortcut to Siri.)
Over time, that may lead them to iOS 12’s Shortcuts app to do even more.
But in the near-term, power users will be busy taking advantage of the new Shortcuts app and Siri features to test the powers of Shortcuts. And with Sharecuts, all the other shortcuts enthusiasts can benefit from their enthusiasm and activity, too.
If you already have the beta Shortcuts app installed, you can try out some of the shortcuts featured on Sharecuts today. A couple of the interesting picks include the Siri News Reader which will read you headlines from an RSS feed, the Bitcoin Price checkers, and an always useful tip calculator.
Turn Siri into a personalized news reader with Shortcuts – here’s how I can listen to headlines from @macstoriesnet and @9to5mac via Siri
(Also: thanks @_inside for letting me upload this shortcut to his @sharecutsapp directory. You can find it here: https://t.co/1hBmLB3qhb) pic.twitter.com/PZolKQlKrg
— Federico Viticci (@viticci) July 9, 2018
Above: The news reader shortcut, from Federico Viticci
Those interested in contributing to Sharecuts in the future can register here for an invite.
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Volley’s voice games for smart speakers have amassed over half a million monthly users
The rapid consumer adoption of smart speakers like Amazon Echo and Google Home has opened opportunities for developers creating voice apps, too. At least that’s true in the case of Volley, a young company building voice-controlled entertainment experiences for Amazon Alexa and Google Home. In less than a year, Volley has amassed an audience north of 500,000 monthly active users across its suite of voice apps, and has been growing that active base of users at 50 to 70 percent month-over-month.
The company was co-founded by former Harvard roommates and longtime friends, Max Child and James Wilsterman, and had originally operated as an iOS consultancy. But around a year and a half ago, Volley shifted its focus to voice instead.
“When we were running the iOS business, we were always sort of hacking around on games and some stuff on the side for fun,” explains Child. “We made a trivia game for iOS. And we made a Facebook Messenger chatbot virtual pet,” he says. The trivia game they built let users play just by swiping on push notifications — a very lightweight form of gameplay they thought was intriguing. “Voice was sort of the obvious next step,” says Child.
Not all their voice games have been successful, however. The first to launch was a game called Spelling Bee that users struggled with because of Alexa’s difficulties in identifying single letters — it would confuse a “B,” “C,” “D” and “E,” for example. But later titles have taken off.
Volley’s name-that-tune trivia game “Song Quiz” was its first breakout hit, and has grown to become the No. 1 game by reviews. The game today has a five-star rating across 8,842 reviews.
Another big hit is Volley’s “Yes Sire,” a choose-your-own-adventure style storytelling game that’s also at the top of Alexa’s charts. It also has a five-star rating, across 1,031 reviews.
The company says it has more than a dozen live titles, with the majority on the Alexa Skill Store and a few for Google Assistant/Google Home. But it only has seven or eight in what you would consider “active development.”
Unlike some indie developers who are struggling to generate revenue from their voice applications, Volley has been moderately successful thanks to Amazon’s developer rewards program — the program that doles out cash payments to top performing skills. While the startup didn’t want to disclose exact numbers, it says it’s earning in the five-figure range monthly from Amazon’s program.
In addition, Volley is preparing to roll out its own monetization features, including subscriptions and in-app purchases of add-on packs that will extend gameplay.
The company’s games have been well-received for a variety of reasons, but one is that they allow people to play together at the same time — like a modern-day replacement for family game night, perhaps.
“I think a live multiplayer experience with your family or people you’re good friends with, where you can have a fun time together in a room is fairly unusual. I mean, I don’t know about you, but I don’t crowd around my iPhone and play games with my friends. And even with consoles there are significant barriers in understanding how to play,” says Child.
“I think that voice enables the live social experience in a way that anyone from five years old to 85 years old can pick up immediately. I think that’s really special. And I think we’re just at the beginning. I’m not going to say we’ve got it all figured out — but I think that’s powerful and unique to these platforms,” he adds.
Volley raised more than a million in seed funding ahead of joining Y Combinator’s Winter 2018 class, in a round led by Advancit Capital. Other investors include Amplify.LA, Rainfall, Y Combinator, MTGx, NFX and angels Hany Nada, Mika Salmi and Richard Wolpert.
The startup is currently a team of six in San Francisco.
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Echo’s messaging service may add support for SMS texts from your own ‘Alexa number’
Amazon appears to be planning an expansion of Alexa’s existing messaging capabilities to support sending SMS text messages to friends using your Echo device or Alexa app. That means Echo users could then text anyone using voice commands, not only other Echo owners. According to code found in the Amazon Alexa app, there are references to a new type of phone number – referred to… Read More
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Silent Echo lets you chat with Alexa over Slack
Want to chat with Alexa via Slack? A new bot called Silent Echo now makes that possible. The idea is that there are times when you want to interact with Amazon’s virtual assistant, Alexa, but you don’t want to do it by voice. For example, if things are too noisy in the room for Alexa to properly hear you, or, alternately, if you need things to be very quiet. The service… Read More
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Josh.ai raises $11 million for a premium home automation system with a smarter AI
One of the promises of voice-based computing is the ability to make home automation simpler – something that major tech companies, including Amazon, Apple and Google, are now tackling with their own voice assistants and smart speakers. But their solutions are still somewhat clunky, both in terms of the software interface for configuring your smart home and the voice commands you use to… Read More
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Plex users can now play their movies, TV shows and music just by asking Alexa
Plex is getting voice-activated. The popular media player software maker just launched voice control through a new Plex Skill for Alexa-powered devices. That means you can ask Alexa via your connected Echo speaker, Fire tablet or Fire TV to play your favorite content from your Plex media library, without having to use a remote control. For example, you could say, “Alexa, ask Plex to… Read More
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Starbucks unveils a virtual assistant that takes your order via messaging or voice
Starbucks is embracing the trend towards voice-based computing with the launch of a new feature in its mobile app called My Starbucks barista, which allows customers to order and pay for their food and drinks just by speaking. This includes being able to modify their drink order, as if they were speaking with a barista in real life. Additionally, the company is launching a skill for the… Read More
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Apple Watch will soon let you talk to Siri to use your apps
The next version of Apple Watch’s software will let you talk to Siri via your smartwatch in order to interact with third-party applications, according to new developer documentation from Apple released on Tuesday. This will let you do things like order an Uber, send a message through a chat application, make a payment, and more. The feature is one of a handful of enhancements expected… Read More
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