An AI virtual assistant is speech recognition software that understands simple language voice commands and completes those single-step tasks for a user. Many of the tasks performed by digital assistants were historically performed by humans – a secretary or personal assistant. Examples include looking up a phone number, reading out text or email messages, taking dictation, checking a diary or calendar for upcoming meetings, and issuing alerts about appointments.
The technologies that power virtual assistants require massive amounts of data. As users interact with virtual assistants, AI programming employs algorithms to learn from the data to better understand commands and predict user needs.
Examples of virtual assistants
The best-known examples of virtual assistants are those produced by the four tech giants – Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Apple Siri, and Microsoft Cortana. A lesser-known alternative is Braina (Brain Artificial), designed for Windows PC and developed by small private company Brainasoft, based in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India, with three employees.
How do they work?
From the viewpoint of users, all digital assistants operate the same way. Users activate the software, speak into their internet-connected computer or mobile device, and issue a command. The software is usually cloud-based with a light interface on user devices.
For example, to use Google Home, users can wake up the assistant by tapping a screen button or calling out ‘Hello Google.’ A signal appears on the device to indicate it is ready to receive commands. The user speaks a simple language request like ‘what is the time?’, ‘who is George Clooney?’, or ‘play my favourite music.’ The device responds accordingly.
Virtual assistants on dedicated smart devices
Amazon and Google have loaded their virtual assistants into dedicated internet-connected, smart devices that sit on a table at home or at the office. The Google device is known as Google Home with Google Assistant loaded into it. The Amazon device is known by the same name as the software, Amazon Alexa.
The Future
Virtual assistants are becoming more sophisticated with greater capabilities, adding more value to users. They will become increasingly integrated with advanced data analytics to process massive amounts of data from a variety of sources to learn about, and better respond to, users.
As voice recognition technology and software improves, virtual assistants will be more deeply integrated into workflows. In the future, digital assistants will have advanced cognitive computing technologies. They will understand and complete multistep tasks requests and perform more complex assignments, such as making a plane reservation and interacting by voice with customers.
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Frequently asked questions
What is an AI Virtual Assistant?
An AI Virtual Assistant is a chatbot that can understand regular human speech and perform useful actions based on those instructions. They are powered by natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning to understand the intent behind user’s speech.
How does an AI Virtual Assistant work?
An AI Virtual Assistant works by utilising NLP (Natural Language Processing) platforms, such as Google’s Dialogflow, and machine learning to analyse and identify a user’s input or question. The AI driven chatbot will then perform an action based on that input.
What is the best AI Virtual Assistant?
The best AI Virtual Assistants are Amazon’s Alexa, Apple’s Siri and Google Assistant. You can utilise Google’s Dialogflow, which uses the same technology that powers Google Assistant, to make your own AI Virtual Assistant.