- Microsoft Acquires Speech-Recognition Firm Nuance In A Deal Valued At Nearly $20B
Search & Performance Marketing Daily, Laurie Sullivan - Monday, April 12, 2021
Nuance is a pioneer in conversational AI and cloud-based ambient clinical intelligence for healthcare providers, known for powering the speech-recognition engine behind Siri. The acquisition of Nuance Communications, announced toda ...
- How Big Tech Is Helping Spread Vaccine Messaging In The War Against COVID-19
Email Insider, Ray Schultz - Wednesday, March 17, 2021
Twilio expects to fuel over 100 billion COVID-19 communications within the next two years. ...
- Amazon Echo Lets Customers Be The Mothers Of Invention
Marketing Daily, P.J. Bednarski - Friday, February 19, 2021
Day One Editions program floats descriptions of Echo items Amazon could make, if consumers demonstrate willingness to buy those products. ...
- Amazon's Super Bowl Ad Steams Up The Internet
Inside Performance, Laurie Sullivan - Friday, February 5, 2021
Amazon's Super Bowl LV commercial, Alexa's Body, shows a woman daydreaming about actor Michael B. Jordan embodying Amazon's Alexa device. ...
- For Safer Holidays, Amazon Recruits 'Granfluencers'
Marketing Daily, Sarah Mahoney - Wednesday, December 23, 2020
The idea is to showcase the Amazon Echo and ways families can use it for impromptu drop-in visits. ...
- The Next Big Mobile Media Battle Will Be Inside The Home
Mobile Insider, Joe Mandese - Thursday, October 15, 2020
Almost no medium is more associated with reaching people outside their homes than mobile, but that may change soon. ...
- Amazon Offers Alexa-Powered Grocery Store
Around the Net In Brand Marketing, Tanya Gazdik - Tuesday, September 1, 2020
Amazon is debuting a 35,000-square-foot supermarket in Los Angeles that offers what it calls a “seamless” shopping experience. “Shoppers access their Alexa shopping lists to figure out where the ite ...
- SEMRush Study Finds Only 1% Overlap In Answers To Same Voice Queries
Around the Net in Search Marketing, Laurie Sullivan - Tuesday, September 1, 2020
Interesting findings from SEMRush's latest voice research found Google Assistant, Siri, and Alexa take comparable market share though algorithms are "drastically" different. The average answer length for all three ...
- Peacock Debuts Voice-Activated Ads From Big Brands
Digital News Daily, Karlene Lukovitz - Friday, August 28, 2020
Unilever, Target and Coors are among the first to use NBCU's "On Command" ads, which connect viewers with brand promotions through the TV screen, using voice-activation functionality built into t ...
- Amazon Alexa Skills Found To Leak Banking History, User Names, Phone Numbers
Search & Performance Marketing Daily, Laurie Sullivan - Friday, August 14, 2020
The report should make marketers and developers who create skills for voice assistants aware of the vulnerability that could tarnish brands' reputation. ...
- Google Hit With New Privacy Claims Over Audio Data
Digital News Daily, Wendy Davis - Monday, August 10, 2020
Google has never informed users that Google Home can be activated, record and/or transmit everything in a user's home even when the user does not use the activation phrase, a ...
- Microsoft Spins Off Chinese Chatbot Xiaoice
Search & Performance Marketing Daily, Laurie Sullivan - Tuesday, July 14, 2020
Microsoft is spinning off its AI-based chatbot technology, Xiaoice, into a stand-alone company after nurturing it for about six years. ...
- Hello Marketers -- Voice Still Frustrates Users
Inside Performance, Laurie Sullivan - Tuesday, June 30, 2020
Voice search has a long way to go before it will replace traditional search methods on a smartphone or smart speaker hub. Perficient's fourth annual study, released Tuesday, shows le ...
- AI Concierge Platform Integrates Into Google Search, Maps, Allows Businesses To Receive Calls, Texts
Search & Performance Marketing Daily, Laurie Sullivan - Monday, June 29, 2020
Concierge platform Numa, built on AI technology, can coordinate curbside pickup, answer missed calls, and collect contact information in an opt-in format from customers so they can be notified. ...
- Do Black Lives Matter? Absolutely, Says Alexa, Siri, Google Assistant
Marketing Daily, P.J. Bednarski - Tuesday, June 9, 2020
The answers from all the virtual assistants are new or updated, with answers to "Do all lives matter?" as well. ...
- Alexa, How Did Red Roof Inn Happen Upon The Idea Of Marketing By Voice?
Show Daily, Nina Lentini - Tuesday, June 9, 2020
A dinner argument led one person to pull out a phone to Google the answer, while the other simply asked Alexa. "It was instant recognition." ...
- Performance Marketing, Advertising Blazes New Trails In Search, Digital
Inside Performance, Laurie Sullivan - Friday, May 15, 2020
Welcome to the first edition of "Search & Performance Marketing Daily." While the emphasis remains on search advertising and marketing, you also will read and learn about how to pro ...
- Brands Should 'Embrace The Opportunity For A Mindset Shift'
Inside Performance, Laurie Sullivan - Thursday, May 14, 2020
Leo Burnett Chief Strategy Officer Aki Spicer told Google that "brands with solid foundations -- a strong sense of purpose and point of view -- can weather this shift wi ...
- Google Picks Ex-Microsoft Exec Javier Soltero To Lead Communication Products
Around the Net in Search Marketing, Laurie Sullivan - Friday, May 8, 2020
Google told Thurrott that former Microsoft executive Javier Soltero will lead its communications products division as it pulls together all of these types of devices under one group. Soltero co-founded Accomp ...
- Google Can't Shake Privacy Lawsuit Over Voice-Activated Assistant
Digital News Daily, Wendy Davis - Thursday, May 7, 2020
U.S. District Court Judge Beth Labson Freeman ruled that Google must face a claim that it violated a federal privacy by disclosing snippets of conversations to outside contractors. ...
- Voice Assistant Usage Seen Growing To 8.4 Billion Devices
Connected Thinking, Chuck Martin - Tuesday, April 28, 2020
As use of voice assistants continues to skyrocket, the companies behind those assistants look for business models to monetize all that voice. Consumers will interact with voice assistants on 8 ...
- 'Hey Google' Sensitivity Modified
Around the Net in IoT, Chuck Martin - Wednesday, April 22, 2020
Following earlier announced plans, Google is rolling out new sensitivity settings for Google Assistant. ...
- Amazon's Alexa Learns Long-Form Speaking Style
AI & IoT Daily, Chuck Martin - Friday, April 17, 2020
Amazon is adding three new Alexa speaking capabilities, including a long-form speaking style. The Long-Form Speaking Style can be used by developers to create more natural experiences for content, su ...
- Alexa Voice Added To Smart Camera
Around the Net in IoT, Chuck Martin - Wednesday, April 15, 2020
Ecobee, maker of smart thermostats, is introducing its first indoor security camera, which can double as an Alexa speaker. ...
- Samsung Ending S Voice Assistant
Around the Net in IoT, Chuck Martin - Monday, April 13, 2020
The Samsung S. Voice assistant, the attempted Siri competitor that never caught on, is being discontinued. ...
- Comcast Launches Voice-Based Easter Eggs
AI & IoT Daily, Chuck Martin - Friday, April 10, 2020
Comcast is introducing a series of hidden Easter eggs via its Xfinity Voice Remote targeted to consumers spending more time at home. Certain words spoken can trigger serving up movi ...
- Amazon's Alexa Can Now Help With COVID-19 Diagnosis
AI & IoT Daily, Chuck Martin - Friday, March 27, 2020
Using CDC guidance, Amazon lets consumers check their risk level for COVID-19 by answering Alexa's questions. ...
- Huawei Intros Voice Assistant 'Celia'
AI & IoT Daily, Chuck Martin - Friday, March 27, 2020
The voice agent is being added to Huawei's latest P40 phone series in U.K., France, Spain, Chile, Columbia and Mexico. ...
- Voice-Activated Ads Are Hear -- Er, Here
Marketing Insider, Kathy Sheehan - Tuesday, March 10, 2020
DiGiorno's pizza told a joke in its Pandora ad - but to hear the punchline, listeners had to say "yes." ...
- Progressive Disclosure In Voice-First Technology: What Marketers Need To Know
Search & Performance Marketing Daily, Dustin Coates - Thursday, March 5, 2020
Progressive disclosure -- gradually revealing more information at just the right time -- is an effective approach to guide users on the voice journey. ...
