Lately, it seems like every time I turn around, I see something about Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the news. Whether I hear about a new technology company built around AI functionality announcing its market debut, or I peruse yet another article discussing the positive and negative impacts of AI in education and the workforce, or in this case, a blog about how gen AI could integrate into existing applications to make location-based interactions contextually relevant and even simpler.
Recently, I completed a Gen AI learning path through Google Cloud. The curriculum really made me think about how our Digital Innovations team at Woolpert could add value to our clients using Google’s Vertex AI to revolutionize the way people interact with mobile and desktop applications. I thought, can voice commands offer a simplified, yet personalized, experience to end-users allowing them to move even faster in the right direction?
With this question at the forefront, our team of experts spent time reviewing Google’s Gen AI technology internally to determine if building prompts within an application could actually equate to voice commands resulting in relevant responses for specific client use cases. While initially, we saw improper prompt design resulting in out-of-context responses, we were able to quickly dictate what prompt designs were needed to keep the end-user experience highly relevant for the respective app. Below are a few use case examples that we focused on.
Fitness
According to Business Wire, the global fitness app market size is expected to reach $4.8 billion by 2030. The ease of having fitness at one’s fingertips has skyrocketed in recent years due to many factors, so ensuring your app provides a top-notch user experience is vital to keep those pesky competitors at bay. With our solution, end users can use voice commands for multiple requests, including routing a walk or run. Use a command like, “I want to run. Where should I go to meet my calorie goal today?,” and the app can create one or multiple routes based on the desired outcome. This helps take end users from “ready to workout” to “ready-set-go” in a matter of seconds, leaving no time to second guess the workout (we all have those moments).
Transportation & Logistics
“Good morning, what is my delivery route today?” Yes – it can be that simple. According to Forbes,the last mile in the delivery process is the most complicated, most expensive and most important step of all. Giving drivers the ability to get on the road faster using voice commands will not only provide a safer experience, it can also be used to adapt throughout the day with commands like, “I am currently running behind/ahead of schedule,” to ensure the most optimized and eco-friendly delivery routes are utilized to save time and money.
Healthcare
Hypothetically, let’s say it’s November. The holidays are right around the corner, and you just remembered you haven’t gotten your flu shot yet. So you pull up your pharmacy app and say, “Find the nearest pharmacy with flu shot appointments today.” Within seconds your pharmacy app is able to deliver five potential locations within 10 miles that have flu shot appointments available.You see the option that best suits your need, so you say, “Book the 1:00 pm appointment at 876 Main Street”. You receive your confirmation, and you are on your way! While many pharmacy apps have already made extraordinary steps to improve customer experience, adding voice commands like these can reduce the scheduling process from several minutes to several seconds.
Travel & Tourism
Since we have officially just entered summer in the northern hemisphere, it seems fitting to include a travel use case, as I can’t be the only one ready for a vacation (or summer holiday for my British readers). According to a survey conducted by OnePoll for Go City, Americans spend 14 hours while their British counterparts spend 11.5 hours planning getaways. I have been known to spend hours looking through travel apps to try and find the perfect accommodations myself, sometimes giving up altogether due to the lengthy search. Using a command like, “Show me all the four-bedroom homes available in Jackson Hole, WY, under $500 per night from July 27th through July 31st,” followed by, “Which available properties are pet friendly?” will not only save time but hopefully lead to higher conversion rates (and repeat customers) in the app itself.
Financial Services
No, it is not a coincidence that I saved this final use case for after Travel & Tourism. With the joys of vacation comes the stress of spending money, so let’s make it as easy as possible for end users. Whether needing to “Make a transfer of $1000 from Savings to Checking” to ensure there is enough money to pay for the trip or “Route me to the nearest ATM” while in Jackson Hole to buy the entire family those custom cowboy hats, even financial institution applications can benefit from relevant prompt designs.
While the options for gen AI seem to be endless in today’s world, we are excited to see it beginning to play a key role in our clients’ success. The ability to teach AI to turn spoken commands into actual interactivity will be game-changing in keeping prompts highly relevant to the respective app, resulting in end users having the most seamless and hands-free experience yet.
It is an exciting time in our industry, and I can’t wait to see what the combination of Google technology and our location experts revolutionize next.
