Amazon’s Alexa was the breakout hit that took consumers and analysts by surprise in 2016, with over 20 million devices sold in the U.S. alone. Both Apple and Google have invested significant research and development into voice assistant technology embedded in the mobile operating system. Language is the fastest and most natural way for humans to provide input, and natural language processing has become sophisticated enough to understand most of what we say.
In fact, some product strategists are suggesting new products be designed with voice in mind first, a repackaging of the “mobile first” revolution. As a startup founder, CTO and a lead mentor at New York City’s largest accelerator program, I spend much of my time educating myself on transformative technologies. Voice has one of the greatest potentials for massive disruption and opportunity.
So, why aren’t we talking to more apps?