What’s Shaping the Future of Conversational In-Car Voice Experiences?

As consumers spend more and more time behind the wheel, the expectations of an in-car experience that allows them to seamlessly achieve their goals while safely getting to their destinations continues to increase. The last thing a driver wants to do at the end of a long workday or in the middle of a trip is to multitask or pull over to search for a nearby gas or charging station, find parking, or order take-out.

With voice AI monetization, auto manufacturers have the opportunity to reduce user frustration and create more brand loyalty. Drivers or passengers simply have to use their voices to find what they need. Unintrusive voice ads are on the verge of presenting drivers with proactive suggestions before they realize they need something. For example, if they are running low on fuel, heading to a destination requiring parking, or driving home from work around dinner time the voice assistant might suggest an appropriate purchasing opportunity.

Interacting with a conversational voice assistant that’s designed specifically for the automotive environment and use cases, drivers and passengers can get highly-accurate responses to natural language queries quickly—even in the noisiest environment surrounded by music, road noise, or other passengers talking. A conversational voice assistant makes monetization possible and safe while providing an exceptional user experience.

A poor voice user interface that is slow or inaccurate not only results in frustration and abandonment of the voice assistant from the user but is also a safety concern by making the driver look at the screen to correct any inaccuracies. The entire point of a conversational voice assistant is to keep the driver hands-free, and one that requires the driver to look away from the road is failing at a core level. 

By creating a fast, accurate, and efficient voice assistant that can be spoken to conversationally and naturally, drivers are less likely to multitask with screens while still achieving their goals of ordering food or searching for gas stations. By producing natural conversations, users are more likely to interact with other aspects of the voice assistant, such as monetization and voice commerce opportunities. 

2. Unintrusive voice ads that deliver value

The future of voice AI is monetizable moments, purchasing opportunities, and unintrusive voice commerce that happen naturally in conversation and occur within the user journey. Suggestions and voice ads should not feel like an intrusion to users but rather, be presented as relevant recommendations that deliver real value to the customer. A proactive voice assistant that can anticipate user needs and improve upon them will further the driving experience. 

With voice commerce opportunities, users will be met with relevant responses to fulfill their everyday, on-the-go wants and needs. If a user asks the voice assistant about local pizza places, where to find the nearest gas station or parking options at their destination, the voice assistant can then provide relevant results from vendors who opt-in to sponsored results. 

While most drivers use their in-car voice assistants for basic tasks, such as playing music, navigation, or rolling up and down the windows, with monetization opportunities, they will begin to rely on the voice assistant for more than simple queries—it will become a helpful companion and an extension of their expectations. 

With voice commerce, auto manufacturers will also have the opportunity to generate revenue from their voice assistant and prove ROI through partnering with other businesses. Voice assistants can be a large, albeit worthwhile, investment, and companies that were previously unable to join the voice-first revolution can consider monetization a potential avenue toward success. 

3. Personalization of monetizable moments

A successful voice commerce experience is also reliant on personalization that creates deeper connections with users by making suggestions unique to them. Personalization gives users a sense that the experience is being tailored to their specific needs, wants, and expectations rather than being offered generic interactions that make them feel a part of the masses or that they might not even be interested in, creating frustration.