Adobe Analytics Cloud Gains Voice Analytics Capabilities

Adobe has added new voice analytics capabilities to its Adobe Analytics Cloud, giving enterprises yet another way of collecting and using a wider range of information to enhance customer experiences and satisfaction.

Using Adobe Analytics, the data generated from voice-enabled devices and services such as Amazon Alexa, Apple Siri, Google Assistant, Microsoft Cortana and Samsung Bixby will be brought together with data from smartphones, apps and other sources to give enterprises an enhanced view into what consumers are researching, buying and doing, according to the company. The new voice analytics capabilities are now available to users of Adobe Analytics, the company said in a June 29 announcement.

The voice analytics are provided through deep analysis of the collected data, as well as through artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) capabilities provided by the Adobe Sensei AI and ML platform, giving companies more insights about their customers.

"As brands continue to make their digital transformations, it's all about the customer experience," Colin Morris, director of product management for analytics at Adobe, told ITPro. "The better that brands make use of this data, the better the customer experience they can provide. And a good customer experience equals business growth."

While companies do have access to basic analytics from voice-enabled platforms such as Amazon Alexa and others today, the new Adobe services will allow companies to more accurately measure qualitative and quantitative customer data from the devices, said Morris. That means that a pizza chain could gain insights about orders coming in through voice-enabled devices which could reveal which types of pizza are the most-purchased in a region while combining that data with customer information that's collected from other devices or websites.

The Wynn Las Vegas hotel, which announced last December that it will be installing Amazon Alexa-equipped Echo voice-controlled speakers in all its 4,748 hotel rooms for use as personal concierges, will be able to leverage data from its customer loyalty program to provide deeper and better customization for its customers when they stay at the hotel, said Morris.

To best serve their customers, businesses today need to gather user data from multiple sources and then analyze it using a myriad of approaches to be able to provide just what customers are seeking, he added.

"If you're not collecting data from all these areas, you won't be able to provide the best customer service," said Morris. Using the new Adobe voice analytics capabilities, "we'll enrich the behavioral data that you are collecting from these devices and bring it together with data from other sources."

The increased performance gained by users comes largely through the integration of the Adobe Sensei AI platform, which runs the data and provides its results faster than competing technologies, said Morris.

Companies will also be able to improve their mobile apps by integrating the SDK for the new voice analytics into their consumer apps, which will help bring enhanced data about customer desires back to the companies, according to Morris, which will help make the digital assistants work better as well.

"One of the most important trends in modern technology is how quickly consumers adopt new ways of interacting with content, as we've seen with mobile and video," Bill Ingram, the vice president of Adobe Analytics Cloud, said in a statement. "We expect a similar trajectory with voice enabled devices. In the same way Adobe has shaped web, mobile and customer analytics, Adobe Analytics Cloud will enable brands of all sizes to extend voice data insights across the entire customer journey."