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Digital Assistants Include Amazon’s Echo and Google’s Home/Alexa and Similar Software Power Third-Party Developers, Business and Industry Trends Analysis

Apple, Google, Amazon and Microsoft are competing to offer the best voice-activated systems that can do anything from reporting the time and weather, to playing music on request, to performing web searches, to telling jokes, to making purchases from internet sites and operating appliances and thermostats.  These platforms utilize the latest in artificial intelligence in order to become more useful over time.  Apple’s Siri is available on iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches and through an app in some vehicles.  Google Now is an app available on a variety of mobile devices as is Microsoft’s Cortana app.  Amazon’s Alexa web app is installed on a gadget called Amazon Echo that sits on a countertop, desk or shelf.  Alexa software can be installed on other devices as well.  Google offers a similar device called Google Home.  All of these apps and platforms are voice-activated and use connections to other apps and systems to find information such as directions, time, date, weather and trivia, or make purchases, which are reported audibly (users can choose their device’s voice gender and language).  The next step for these handy assistants is the ability to connect with apps relating to climate control, lighting and/or security enabling users to simply say, for example, “Set home temperature to 72 degrees,” or “Activate alarm system,” and have the action performed, even from remote locations.
Importantly, most systems are open to third-party developers.  For example, Amazon has opened “Lex” to developers, which is the artificial intelligence engine behind the Alexa and Echo platforms.  Lex is tied into Amazon’s AWS cloud computing system.  Software and product developers can incorporate Lex, enabling voice-activated or click-activated responsiveness (often in the form of specific task-oriented icons or apps known as “bots”).  This gives these developers instant access to extremely powerful cloud computing, artificial intelligence and voice-activation in one easy-to-launch package.  Amazon charges a modest fee per thousand uses or data accesses.  This ease-of-use has spurred a tidal wave of new product development worldwide, with the potential to revolutionize the manner in which consumers interface with their digital devices and the internet.  Smart device and digital assistant manufacturers have banded together to adopt a technology standard called “Matter” to evolve their devices to communicate with various platforms.
 
Top Voice-Activated Technology Platforms and their Unique Advantages:
Alexa:  Owned by Amazon.  Connects to Amazon AWS Cloud services, making it easy to embed Alexa software in third-party products.
Siri:  Owned by Apple.  Siri, already familiar to hundreds of millions of iPhone users worldwide, has evolved into a very sophisticated digital assistant.
Cortana: Owned by Microsoft.  Microsoft had deep partnerships and experience with third-party corporate software and technology firms, making this an easy platform for others to embed.
Google Assistant: Owned by Google.  Assistant capitalizes on Google’s constantly evolving expertise in search and artificial intelligence.
Source: Plunkett Research, Ltd.


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