With Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and Amazon’s Echo Auto, the in-car space is being progressively invaded by the tech giants’ consumer voice assistants at the automakers’ expense. Now is the time for automakers to take back control of the driver experience. When your customer relationship is at stake, revitalise it and differentiate with your own digital Brand Voice!
"Be ready to retake control!" is an in-car notification a driver might expect to hear when an obstacle has been detected. However, these words also act as a serious alert for automakers and autonomous vehicle producers. Relinquishing control of the in-car experience to the producers of smartphone voice assistants is a very real risk. In contrast, developing your own personalised car assistant who speaks with your very own Brand Voice is a huge opportunity to reclaim a direct and potent relationship with your customers.
It’s all about the driver experience. To surprise and delight their customers, automaker brands need to provide a cordial, enriched, exceptional driver experience. A unique, high-quality, expressive Brand Voice that can adapt its tone and style to each situation will breathe life into your cabin control, navigation and infotainment systems. A voice synthesis enhanced with a bespoke intelligibility module will enhance the driver experience no matter the sound environment.
The style and tone of a consumer voice assistant is unfit for in-vehicle use-cases. The voice of a car assistant should cover a wide range of speaking styles and expressiveness to be able to adapt in real-time to different situations. For example, a warm, caring tone is appreciated for welcoming you on-board as well as for general, non-urgent communications. However, in emergency situations, a more alerting or even authoritative style may be employed as appropriate. Adapting vocal expressiveness to suit the circumstances contributes towards relevant and unambiguous interactions.
The modern driver must process information from several channels simultaneously: navigation, infotainment systems, collision warnings. This can often become overwhelming, making it difficult to ascertain precisely what is most important at any given time. This problem is only exacerbated by the dominance of visual interfaces when the attention of the driver should be focused on the road. Voice offers an efficient and robust access to key information, prioritising the most useful messages and minimising the effort required from the driver.
Real-time is crucial. An expressive voice-enabled interface conveys urgent information efficiently in real-time. Moreover, any flow of information can be dynamically rescheduled with higher-priority messages able to interrupt those less urgent.
As Voice becomes the primary means of interaction with the driver, it must be recognised as the key component of your future brand identity and be given high priority in your company’s board-level strategic planning. Not only does the inclusion of Voice increase your business efficiency and generate its own value, but, first and foremost, Voice identifies who you are. Safeguard the precious relationship you have with the driver, with your customers. Don’t let the tech giants cut you out from the driver experience. Instead, personify your brand as part of the in-car experience through your bespoke voice identity. This way, your cars and connected vehicles will stand out in the crowd, head and shoulders above your competitors. Be a Voice, Not an Echo.
