Frequently Asked Questions

Implementing a custom wake word helps brands deepen user engagement, increase brand affinity, and inspire loyalty when their users ask for them by name every time they interact with their custom voice assistant. SoundHound’s comprehensive data collection and labeling process allows us to deliver a custom, branded wake word in weeks, not months. Just ask.

A custom voice assistant can be differentiated from other voice AI offerings by looking at two key elements: data ownership and control over the customer relationship. Unlike intermediated voice experiences, custom voice assistants belong to the brand they represent and are resident on a wholly-owned mobile app, voice-enabled product, or customer service center. Custom voice assistants often have custom wake words and customized TTS voices that differentiate them from the sound of other voice assistants on the market.

Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) is the technology that understands what a user is saying and converts speech to data or text. While there is a wide range of ASR technology available, SoundHound’s advanced ASR technology is able to deliver higher sentence accuracy through embedded meaning and a richer context for recognizing words. The integration of our Natural Language Understanding (NLU) components enables our neural network-based ASR to transcribe complex speech with greater precision.

Natural Language Understanding (NLU) is the core technology behind conversational voice assistants. SoundHound’s breakthrough technology makes easy, intuitive, and intelligent conversations between humans and voice assistants possible. Our patented approach allows voice assistants to engage in conversations the way humans do, by understanding complex and natural conversations in real-time.

Text-to-Speech (TTS) is the output technology that allows voice assistants to communicate with humans. As voice assistants become ubiquitous, brands are looking for unique TTS voices that fit within existing sonic branding guidelines and help to create positive associations with their voice-enabled products and services. Developers using SoundHound’s Voice AI platform can choose from a library of voices with the option to create a custom voice built specifically for the brand.

Voice-first refers to a movement by businesses across industries to provide voice user interfaces for their products, mobile apps, and services—such as voice-enabled IVR systems in customer contact centers. While we expect to see continued rapid adoption of customized voice assistants, voice interfaces will continue to be a part of multi-modal experiences. After all, voice-first isn’t—and never was—voice-only. 

Voice AI is the technology used to build voice assistants. At SoundHound Inc., we’ve dedicated more than 15 years to developing the innovative technologies behind our independent voice AI platform. Our advancements have resulted in the ability to process speech in real-time and to deliver the most natural conversational user experiences possible.

Content domains are programs that allow the SoundHound server to respond to queries on a certain topic. For example, the “Weather” domain allows Houndify to understand weather queries such as “What’s the temperature in San Francisco?” and then ask follow-up questions like, “How about in San Jose?” As a developer, you can choose from a library of over a hundred content domains or we’ll help you create custom domains to meet the unique needs of your users. Learn more about SoundHound’s public, private, and customizable content domains.

Collective AI® is the actualization of SoundHound’s mission to deliver a powerful architecture that encourages contribution and collaboration among developers. Our platform is always learning, crowdsourced to domain experts, and larger than the sum of its parts—ensuring that our clients’ voice solutions continue to grow smarter in the future.

Houndify is a developer platform for voice AI that allows anyone to develop conversational voice assistants.

Our suite of tools includes APIs for text and voice queries, support for custom commands, extensive libraries of content domains, inclusive SDK platforms, collaboration capabilities, diagnostic tools, and built-in analytics, and our growing library of hundreds of content domains turns data into conversations.

Whether you require a complete solution or just certain components, we are able to work with you at any stage of your development. We have all the technology and tools you need to build an independent voice assistant.

Currently, SoundHound supports adding custom commands that allow developers to fine-tune the voice experience to match users’ likely phrasing. We can help you create the specialty content domains you need to deliver truly unique and accurate voice experiences.

The SoundHound Voice AI platform currently supports 25 of the world’s most popular languages. Now, developers employing our advanced voice AI technology can add conversational intelligence to their products and services for users across the globe. 

The availability of 25 languages is part of an expansion plan to include more than 100 languages and variations for SoundHound users. The growing language library reflects a commitment to providing the most comprehensive voice AI solution to brands and their users everywhere. Learn more about the spoken languages we offer.

Our extensive list of supported SDKs is continually growing and currently includes:

• Android
• Go
• iOS
• C++
• JavaScript
• C#
• React Native
• Python
• Java

Developers can get up and running within minutes. SoundHound’s Voice AI is platform-agnostic, so you can build it once and deploy it everywhere. Get started with your free account in minutes or talk to an expert and let us show you how we can help bring your voice AI strategy to life. 

We partner with companies in a wide range of industries across the globe to add conversational interfaces to their products, services, and apps. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, we are a global company with 9 offices in key markets and teams in 16 countries.