Api.ai is now Dialogflow!
More than that, they released 2 hot new features:
1. In-line code editor: you can now write fulfillment logic, test, and implement a functional webhook directly in the console.
2. Multi-lingual agent support: building for multiple languages is now easier than ever. You can now add additional languages and locales to your new or existing agent.
Excited to test!
https://blog.dialogflow.com/post/apiai-new-name-dialogflow-new-features/
More than that, they released 2 hot new features:
1. In-line code editor: you can now write fulfillment logic, test, and implement a functional webhook directly in the console.
2. Multi-lingual agent support: building for multiple languages is now easier than ever. You can now add additional languages and locales to your new or existing agent.
Excited to test!
https://blog.dialogflow.com/post/apiai-new-name-dialogflow-new-features/
Amazon Alexa can now recognize different voices
The battle of the smart speakers has become a constant back and forth between Amazon and Google.
Back in April, Google Home gained the ability to recognize individual voices, which allows the device to personalize its response for everyone in your house or apartment.
Today, Amazon announced that Alexa can now do the same thing.
You can set up voice recognition using the Echo, Echo Dot, or Echo Show.
Users are asked to read aloud 10 phrases, and Alexa will then use that data to create a voice profile.
After that’s done, voice profiles work across other Echo devices and “most” third-party party Alexa-enabled devices.
Guys, I’m really excited about this 🔥
https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2017/10/11/16460120/amazon-echo-multi-user-voice-new-feature
The battle of the smart speakers has become a constant back and forth between Amazon and Google.
Back in April, Google Home gained the ability to recognize individual voices, which allows the device to personalize its response for everyone in your house or apartment.
Today, Amazon announced that Alexa can now do the same thing.
You can set up voice recognition using the Echo, Echo Dot, or Echo Show.
Users are asked to read aloud 10 phrases, and Alexa will then use that data to create a voice profile.
After that’s done, voice profiles work across other Echo devices and “most” third-party party Alexa-enabled devices.
Guys, I’m really excited about this 🔥
https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2017/10/11/16460120/amazon-echo-multi-user-voice-new-feature
The Verge
Amazon’s Alexa can now recognize different voices and give personalized responses
Your Echo just got smart enough to tell you apart from the people you live with
I think a lot of you guys remember Surebot - bot that allows you to find the most Instagrammed food and drink spots around you.
It has been featured a couple of times here and even been a "Bot of the Week once.
Yesterday Juraj Pal, founder of Surebot, has announced that they’ve decided to shut it down.
Long story short - “our growth wasn’t what we anticipated and not enough people are actively using Sure to validate it. We did not manage to secure further investment and reached the end of our runway.”
Juraj has also shared a couple of learning from this 1.5 year journey in a Medium article below.
It’s sad to hear such announcements but they need to happen to help industry grow and mature.
Good bye, Surebot, we’re excited for what’s next 🚀
https://medium.com/@jurajpal/were-sure-that-we-re-no-longer-sure-58af9d67c42
It has been featured a couple of times here and even been a "Bot of the Week once.
Yesterday Juraj Pal, founder of Surebot, has announced that they’ve decided to shut it down.
Long story short - “our growth wasn’t what we anticipated and not enough people are actively using Sure to validate it. We did not manage to secure further investment and reached the end of our runway.”
Juraj has also shared a couple of learning from this 1.5 year journey in a Medium article below.
It’s sad to hear such announcements but they need to happen to help industry grow and mature.
Good bye, Surebot, we’re excited for what’s next 🚀
https://medium.com/@jurajpal/were-sure-that-we-re-no-longer-sure-58af9d67c42
Chatbots Life
We’re sure that we’re no longer Sure
Last week, I was speaking at the Facebook Developer Circles event in Vienna where I announced that we’ve decided to shut down Sure.
Hey guys, let’s talk about native chatbots today.
A native chatbot is a chatbot that works in either Website or Mobile App environment where the bot owner has full control over the user experience of the entire customer journey.
Why does anyone want to create a native chatbot if there are Facebook/Viber/Telegram and others?
There are a lot of reasons, to be honest, from the ability to customize User Experience to different privacy issues.
Here is a great article from Jiaqi Pan, CEO of Landbot, about that.
I highly encourage you to read it, helps to understand that chatbot is not tied to Facebook Messenger or Viber and also highlights different use cases of native chatbots from such guys as Duolingo and Intercom.
https://chatbotsmagazine.com/the-rise-of-native-chatbot-development-658342167856
A native chatbot is a chatbot that works in either Website or Mobile App environment where the bot owner has full control over the user experience of the entire customer journey.
Why does anyone want to create a native chatbot if there are Facebook/Viber/Telegram and others?
There are a lot of reasons, to be honest, from the ability to customize User Experience to different privacy issues.
Here is a great article from Jiaqi Pan, CEO of Landbot, about that.
I highly encourage you to read it, helps to understand that chatbot is not tied to Facebook Messenger or Viber and also highlights different use cases of native chatbots from such guys as Duolingo and Intercom.
https://chatbotsmagazine.com/the-rise-of-native-chatbot-development-658342167856
Medium
The Rise of Native Chatbot Development for Website / Mobile App
How website and app chatbots are changing the game of conversational interfaces
If you’re asking a user to engage in a conversation instead of tapping a button or two, are you really making things any easier?
“Conversational UIs might mirror the way we naturally like to communicate, but they actually required more mental load than traditional GUIs.”
Really good stuff from Intercom.
When they were building their live chat for sales, rather than relying on text alone they incorporated conversational UI along with one of the least fashionable interfaces – a form.
Here’s a summary of insights they learned building this hybrid interface 📖
Fantastic read.
https://blog.intercom.com/why-forms-arent-dead-yet/
“Conversational UIs might mirror the way we naturally like to communicate, but they actually required more mental load than traditional GUIs.”
Really good stuff from Intercom.
When they were building their live chat for sales, rather than relying on text alone they incorporated conversational UI along with one of the least fashionable interfaces – a form.
Here’s a summary of insights they learned building this hybrid interface 📖
Fantastic read.
https://blog.intercom.com/why-forms-arent-dead-yet/
The Intercom Blog
The cult of conversational design: why forms aren't dead yet
The UI of conversational design mirrors the way we naturally communicate. But here's why it actually requires more mental load than traditional user interfaces do.
Hey BotCube community,
We officially launched Storyline on Product Hunt.
Storyline makes it easy for non-tech people to create, test, and publish complex voice applications in minutes, using templates and visual mind-map interface.
There’s no need to code anything or setup servers.
It’s like a Squarespace for voice apps.
Please go here and check it out: https://www.producthunt.com/posts/storyline-7
If you upvote or comment on our Product Hunt page with feedback, we’ll toss you a golden ticket to Storyline tomorrow 😉
Thank you for all the support!
We officially launched Storyline on Product Hunt.
Storyline makes it easy for non-tech people to create, test, and publish complex voice applications in minutes, using templates and visual mind-map interface.
There’s no need to code anything or setup servers.
It’s like a Squarespace for voice apps.
Please go here and check it out: https://www.producthunt.com/posts/storyline-7
If you upvote or comment on our Product Hunt page with feedback, we’ll toss you a golden ticket to Storyline tomorrow 😉
Thank you for all the support!
Product Hunt
Storyline - Create voice apps without coding | Product Hunt
Storyline makes it easy for non-tech people to create, test, and publish complex voice applications in minutes, using templates and visual mind-map interface. There is no need to code anything or setup servers. It’s like a Squarespace for voice apps.
Facebook now allows developers to monetize their Messenger instant games
Today Facebook is allowing developers to add in-app purchases as well as interstitial and rewarded video ads
Players get a virtual good or bonus life in exchange for watching rewarded videos.
Facebook will take a cut of the ads shown in Messenger games that are routed from its Facebook Audience Network, and they’ll begin appearing in some games on iOS and Android.
Facebook seems to be taking Messenger Instant Games quite seriously after its desktop game platform withered and mobile gaming was dominated by the App Store and Google Play platforms.
Facebook sees an opportunity to not only give people something to do between chat conversations and a way to challenge friends, but also now to start squeezing more cash out of the 1.3 billion Messenger users without interrupting the traditional use cases as its inbox do.
https://techcrunch.com/2017/10/19/facebook-messenger-game-ads-in-app-purchases/
Today Facebook is allowing developers to add in-app purchases as well as interstitial and rewarded video ads
Players get a virtual good or bonus life in exchange for watching rewarded videos.
Facebook will take a cut of the ads shown in Messenger games that are routed from its Facebook Audience Network, and they’ll begin appearing in some games on iOS and Android.
Facebook seems to be taking Messenger Instant Games quite seriously after its desktop game platform withered and mobile gaming was dominated by the App Store and Google Play platforms.
Facebook sees an opportunity to not only give people something to do between chat conversations and a way to challenge friends, but also now to start squeezing more cash out of the 1.3 billion Messenger users without interrupting the traditional use cases as its inbox do.
https://techcrunch.com/2017/10/19/facebook-messenger-game-ads-in-app-purchases/
TechCrunch
Facebook Messenger lets games monetize with purchases and ads
Facebook is finally giving developers a reason to build games for Messenger while also opening a new revenue stream for the chat app. After launching HTML5 ‘Instant Games’ inside…
Cortana gets its own smart speaker
Not one to be left out of the party, there’s now a smart wireless speaker that uses Microsoft’s Cortana assistant.
The $199 Harman Kardon Invoke is not hugely different than the Amazon Echo or Google Home.
If Microsoft is able to deliver those promised improvements and perhaps make Cortana work better with non-Microsoft services, the Invoke could be a compelling smart speaker for the rest of us.
Read full review in this article: https://www.theverge.com/2017/10/20/16505468/harman-kardon-invoke-cortana-microsoft-smart-speaker-review
Not one to be left out of the party, there’s now a smart wireless speaker that uses Microsoft’s Cortana assistant.
The $199 Harman Kardon Invoke is not hugely different than the Amazon Echo or Google Home.
If Microsoft is able to deliver those promised improvements and perhaps make Cortana work better with non-Microsoft services, the Invoke could be a compelling smart speaker for the rest of us.
Read full review in this article: https://www.theverge.com/2017/10/20/16505468/harman-kardon-invoke-cortana-microsoft-smart-speaker-review
The Verge
Harman Kardon Invoke review: Cortana gets a speaker of its own
A smart speaker for Microsoft’s world
Amazon is testing paid Alexa skills
Today, Amazon rolled out a new subnoscription service that enables Jeopardy! Alexa skill users to get six extra clues per day and the ability to play previous day’s games that were missed.
“Amazon introduced the ability for customers to access premium subnoscription content within the Jeopardy! skill… The developer tools to create subnoscription skills are currently in preview with Jeopardy!. We’ll notify developers when the tools are more broadly available.”
The next logical monetization option will be in-Skill purchases.
This can take many forms and in the mobile world is known as in-app purchases.
Let’s see how it goes, but I’m super excited 💪🏻
https://www.voicebot.ai/2017/10/24/amazon-alexa-monetization-introduced-1-99-subnoscription-jeopardy-skill/
Today, Amazon rolled out a new subnoscription service that enables Jeopardy! Alexa skill users to get six extra clues per day and the ability to play previous day’s games that were missed.
“Amazon introduced the ability for customers to access premium subnoscription content within the Jeopardy! skill… The developer tools to create subnoscription skills are currently in preview with Jeopardy!. We’ll notify developers when the tools are more broadly available.”
The next logical monetization option will be in-Skill purchases.
This can take many forms and in the mobile world is known as in-app purchases.
Let’s see how it goes, but I’m super excited 💪🏻
https://www.voicebot.ai/2017/10/24/amazon-alexa-monetization-introduced-1-99-subnoscription-jeopardy-skill/
Voicebot
Amazon Alexa Monetization Introduced with $1.99 Subnoscription for Jeopardy Skill
Voicebot has learned that Amazon Alexa monetization has been enabled for the Jeopardy! skill. While Amazon started granting cash rewards..
It’s becoming increasingly easy to accomplish tasks with your voice, thanks to the proliferation of intelligent assistants.
But voice computing won’t make the graphical user interface obsolete, said Alexa Engine VP Al Lindsay.
“When I think about voice, I think it will revolutionize in a natural way the way in which we interface with technology and devices, but it’s not going to replace the graphical user interface”.
“If you can imagine a voice reading back to you a list of 10 items so you can get the one you want, it’s probably not the optimal experience”.
“So I think there’s a sweet spot of combination of multimodal experiences, where voice forward — which we’re focused on — is supplemented with a screen for glanceable information or viewable information that allows your brain to process things more quickly”.
What do you guys think about voice interfaces? Let’s discuss in our @botcubechat.
https://venturebeat.com/2017/10/24/alexa-vp-voice-wont-kill-the-graphical-user-interface/
But voice computing won’t make the graphical user interface obsolete, said Alexa Engine VP Al Lindsay.
“When I think about voice, I think it will revolutionize in a natural way the way in which we interface with technology and devices, but it’s not going to replace the graphical user interface”.
“If you can imagine a voice reading back to you a list of 10 items so you can get the one you want, it’s probably not the optimal experience”.
“So I think there’s a sweet spot of combination of multimodal experiences, where voice forward — which we’re focused on — is supplemented with a screen for glanceable information or viewable information that allows your brain to process things more quickly”.
What do you guys think about voice interfaces? Let’s discuss in our @botcubechat.
https://venturebeat.com/2017/10/24/alexa-vp-voice-wont-kill-the-graphical-user-interface/
VentureBeat
Alexa VP: Voice won’t kill the graphical user interface
It's becoming increasingly easy to accomplish tasks with your voice, thanks to the proliferation of intelligent assistants. But voice computing won't make the graphical user interface obsolete, said Alexa Engine VP Al Lindsay.
Perfect time to step into the voice game to win 25k$
Alexa, the voice service behind Amazon Echo devices and Alexa-enabled products, now supports skills for kids under the age of 13.
Which is a good thing, because kids have a lot of questions that need answering.
Amazon invites developers from around the world to create Alexa skills for kids.
If your skill makes the grade, you could win big.
So what are they looking for?
Here are some ideas:
1. Educate – Inspire wonder. Foster kids’ creative problem-solving skills. Cheer them on for a job well done.
2. Entertain – Bring them into the action with interactive experiences. Make it fun. Make them laugh.
3. Engage – Make a strong first impression. Keep their interest. Make it useful so they want to keep coming back.
Your skill can be any or all of these things.
It can engage one child or several.
It can even get the parents involved.
Best skills can win 25k$.
My team at BotCube is in, and you?
https://alexakidskills.devpost.com/
Alexa, the voice service behind Amazon Echo devices and Alexa-enabled products, now supports skills for kids under the age of 13.
Which is a good thing, because kids have a lot of questions that need answering.
Amazon invites developers from around the world to create Alexa skills for kids.
If your skill makes the grade, you could win big.
So what are they looking for?
Here are some ideas:
1. Educate – Inspire wonder. Foster kids’ creative problem-solving skills. Cheer them on for a job well done.
2. Entertain – Bring them into the action with interactive experiences. Make it fun. Make them laugh.
3. Engage – Make a strong first impression. Keep their interest. Make it useful so they want to keep coming back.
Your skill can be any or all of these things.
It can engage one child or several.
It can even get the parents involved.
Best skills can win 25k$.
My team at BotCube is in, and you?
https://alexakidskills.devpost.com/
Alexa Skills Challenge: Kids
Build an Alexa skill that educates, entertains, and engages kids under 13
Learn to build a stellar kid skill for Alexa!
We are so excited about the language game, we mentioned in the previous post, that we want to publish another great piece of news about it.
Join the Amazon professionals for a live webinar on 8.11.2017 to learn what kids find engaging when it comes to voice experiences. They will share tips and best practices for building skills that educate, entertain, and engage kids under 13.
Register now to build your best kid skill for a chance to win your share of cash and prizes totaling $250,000 by the Alexa Skills Challenge ‘Kids with Devpost’.
http://dev.amazonappservices.com/kids-skills-oct-web-reg.html
We are so excited about the language game, we mentioned in the previous post, that we want to publish another great piece of news about it.
Join the Amazon professionals for a live webinar on 8.11.2017 to learn what kids find engaging when it comes to voice experiences. They will share tips and best practices for building skills that educate, entertain, and engage kids under 13.
Register now to build your best kid skill for a chance to win your share of cash and prizes totaling $250,000 by the Alexa Skills Challenge ‘Kids with Devpost’.
http://dev.amazonappservices.com/kids-skills-oct-web-reg.html
“Don’t be a Robot, Build the Robot.”
Wade Foster knows a thing or two about automation. He’s the founder and CEO of Zapier, which has become the web’s default platform for automating repetitive tasks, so he knows first hand how automation is reshaping how we do our jobs. Zapier is also a fully distributed team, with employees in over a dozen countries. Along with AI and automation, remote work is one of the top trends defining the future of work.
https://x.ai/how-ai-is-changing-my-job-wade-foster-ceo-at-zapier/
Wade Foster knows a thing or two about automation. He’s the founder and CEO of Zapier, which has become the web’s default platform for automating repetitive tasks, so he knows first hand how automation is reshaping how we do our jobs. Zapier is also a fully distributed team, with employees in over a dozen countries. Along with AI and automation, remote work is one of the top trends defining the future of work.
https://x.ai/how-ai-is-changing-my-job-wade-foster-ceo-at-zapier/
x.ai
How AI is changing my job: Wade Foster, CEO at Zapier
This post is part of x.ai’s ‘Future of Jobs’ interviews series. We’re talking to leaders and mavericks to find out how emerging technologies like AI and automation are changing how they do their jobs. You can find all the posts in the series here. Wade…
Amazon Alexa now allows you to define routines
Amazon’s Alexa is getting the ability to respond to custom phrases, schedule actions by smart home appliances, and give you a rundown of the weather, traffic, or news.
Customizable voice commands and routines can be made with the new Routines tab in the Alexa app for Android and iOS.
You create a new routine by picking a phrase that begins with Alexa, then you choose an action you want to happen anytime you say that phrase.
The most obvious routines to establish are “Alexa, I’m home” or “Alexa, I’m heading out”.
Though Alexa Routines can really change the way you interact with an Echo device.
https://venturebeat.com/2017/10/30/amazon-debuts-alexa-routines-for-customizable-and-scheduled-tasks/
Amazon’s Alexa is getting the ability to respond to custom phrases, schedule actions by smart home appliances, and give you a rundown of the weather, traffic, or news.
Customizable voice commands and routines can be made with the new Routines tab in the Alexa app for Android and iOS.
You create a new routine by picking a phrase that begins with Alexa, then you choose an action you want to happen anytime you say that phrase.
The most obvious routines to establish are “Alexa, I’m home” or “Alexa, I’m heading out”.
Though Alexa Routines can really change the way you interact with an Echo device.
https://venturebeat.com/2017/10/30/amazon-debuts-alexa-routines-for-customizable-and-scheduled-tasks/
VentureBeat
Amazon debuts Alexa Routines for customizable and scheduled tasks
Amazon's Alexa has gained the ability to respond to custom phrases, schedule actions by smart home appliance, and give you a rundown of the weather, traffic, or news. These features come courtesy of Alexa Routines, which first began to roll out to Echo device…
Google has just released an IDE for building bots
Bottery is a syntax, editor, and simulator for prototyping generative contextual conversations.
The goal of Bottery is to help everyone, from designers to writers to coders, be able to write simple and engaging contextual conversational agents, and to test them out in a realistic interactive simulation, mimicking how they'd work on a "real" platform like API.AI.
I would definitely suggest you to take a look, it can be a game changer.
https://github.com/google/bottery
Bottery is a syntax, editor, and simulator for prototyping generative contextual conversations.
The goal of Bottery is to help everyone, from designers to writers to coders, be able to write simple and engaging contextual conversational agents, and to test them out in a realistic interactive simulation, mimicking how they'd work on a "real" platform like API.AI.
I would definitely suggest you to take a look, it can be a game changer.
https://github.com/google/bottery
GitHub
GitHub - google/bottery
Contribute to google/bottery development by creating an account on GitHub.
Google is hoping the way to your ears is through your stomach.
To promote the launch of Google Home Mini, about the size of, say, a donut—the tech company is putting on its baking mitts with a series of pop-up doughnut shops across the country.
At nine cities across the U.S. and Canada, visitors will be able to walk into a donut shop to a kiosk, where they’ll be able to ask a Mini device a question, triggering a box to slide down from a chute.
Visitors will then head to a counter and unbox their package, which will either contain a donut or a Mini. (Google says it won’t deprive Mini winners of donuts, too.)
The doughnut shops at various locations will be open at different days throughout the fall, starting this weekend in San Francisco and Manhattan and ending in St. Louis on Nov. 9.
Donut or voice assistant? 🤔
http://www.adweek.com/digital/google-is-opening-pop-up-doughnut-shops-to-promote-its-voice-activated-mini-speakers/
To promote the launch of Google Home Mini, about the size of, say, a donut—the tech company is putting on its baking mitts with a series of pop-up doughnut shops across the country.
At nine cities across the U.S. and Canada, visitors will be able to walk into a donut shop to a kiosk, where they’ll be able to ask a Mini device a question, triggering a box to slide down from a chute.
Visitors will then head to a counter and unbox their package, which will either contain a donut or a Mini. (Google says it won’t deprive Mini winners of donuts, too.)
The doughnut shops at various locations will be open at different days throughout the fall, starting this weekend in San Francisco and Manhattan and ending in St. Louis on Nov. 9.
Donut or voice assistant? 🤔
http://www.adweek.com/digital/google-is-opening-pop-up-doughnut-shops-to-promote-its-voice-activated-mini-speakers/
Adweek
Google Is Opening Pop-Up Doughnut Shops To Promote Its Voice-Activated Mini Speakers
The clever stunt might be taking over a location near you.
Facebook today announced that sponsored messages are being rolled out to more businesses
The Messenger ads were initially made available to a small number of businesses but will become available to all businesses in the coming months.
Unlike other Messenger ads, sponsored messages that pop up on your Messenger home screen will not be marked as such.
In fact, they look like all other conversations on Facebook Messenger.
As previously defined rules for advertising and marketing on Facebook Messenger state, promotional messages like the kind being rolled out now may only be sent once in a 24-hour period, and they can only be sent to a person who previously chatted with that business’ Facebook Messenger bot or account.
https://venturebeat.com/2017/11/03/facebook-messenger-will-soon-let-all-businesses-send-sponsored-messages/
The Messenger ads were initially made available to a small number of businesses but will become available to all businesses in the coming months.
Unlike other Messenger ads, sponsored messages that pop up on your Messenger home screen will not be marked as such.
In fact, they look like all other conversations on Facebook Messenger.
As previously defined rules for advertising and marketing on Facebook Messenger state, promotional messages like the kind being rolled out now may only be sent once in a 24-hour period, and they can only be sent to a person who previously chatted with that business’ Facebook Messenger bot or account.
https://venturebeat.com/2017/11/03/facebook-messenger-will-soon-let-all-businesses-send-sponsored-messages/
VentureBeat
Facebook Messenger will soon let all businesses send sponsored messages
Facebook today announced that sponsored messages are being rolled out to more businesses. The Messenger ads were initially made available to a small number of businesses but will become available to all businesses in the coming months, the company said in…
Alexa gets its first celeb voice with Oprah
Don’t get too excited, Oprah won’t respond to your day-to-day questions, the addition of Oprah’s voice is part of a holiday shopping promotion between Oprah’s O magazine and Amazon.
To trigger Oprah’s voice, Alexa users have to say, “Alexa, let’s shop Oprah’s favorite things.”
If anything, this integration is more of a gimmick to promote Oprah’s holiday list and Amazon’s Echo speakers.
It’s not, however, a very efficient way to shop.
Not only does it force you to listen to items one-by-one, it’s also difficult to encourage people to shop based on product suggestions and denoscriptions alone.
Most people want to see photos – and sometimes even videos – before making an online purchase.
But I’m pretty sure that is 5 years Alexa-powered devices, especially Echo Show, will be a preferred way of shopping.
https://techcrunch.com/2017/11/02/alexa-gets-its-first-celeb-voice-with-oprah-but-its-just-a-holiday-promo/
Don’t get too excited, Oprah won’t respond to your day-to-day questions, the addition of Oprah’s voice is part of a holiday shopping promotion between Oprah’s O magazine and Amazon.
To trigger Oprah’s voice, Alexa users have to say, “Alexa, let’s shop Oprah’s favorite things.”
If anything, this integration is more of a gimmick to promote Oprah’s holiday list and Amazon’s Echo speakers.
It’s not, however, a very efficient way to shop.
Not only does it force you to listen to items one-by-one, it’s also difficult to encourage people to shop based on product suggestions and denoscriptions alone.
Most people want to see photos – and sometimes even videos – before making an online purchase.
But I’m pretty sure that is 5 years Alexa-powered devices, especially Echo Show, will be a preferred way of shopping.
https://techcrunch.com/2017/11/02/alexa-gets-its-first-celeb-voice-with-oprah-but-its-just-a-holiday-promo/
TechCrunch
Alexa gets its first celeb voice with Oprah, but it’s just a holiday promo
Alexa is getting its first celebrity voice, and it’s Oprah. Before you get too excited, Oprah won’t respond to your day-to-day questions, as Alexa does – instead, the addition of Oprah’s…
Will.i.am’s startup raises $117 million to launch a voice assistant
I.am+, the tech startup founded by pop star and entrepreneur will.i.am, has raised $117 million in venture funding to enter the corporate computing market with a voice assistant for customer service.
The company, founded in 2012, initially focused on consumer electronics devices such as headphones.
The new artificial intelligence product, similar to Apple’s Siri and Amazon’s Alexa, marks a sharp departure for the firm, which now employs about 300 people.
Will.i.am said customer support is just the start of Omega.
The plan is to use the technology to build several more enterprise voice AI products.
Voice space is heating quickly 🔥
https://venturebeat.com/2017/11/06/will-i-ams-startup-raises-117-million-and-launches-bot-engine-for-enterprise-market/
I.am+, the tech startup founded by pop star and entrepreneur will.i.am, has raised $117 million in venture funding to enter the corporate computing market with a voice assistant for customer service.
The company, founded in 2012, initially focused on consumer electronics devices such as headphones.
The new artificial intelligence product, similar to Apple’s Siri and Amazon’s Alexa, marks a sharp departure for the firm, which now employs about 300 people.
Will.i.am said customer support is just the start of Omega.
The plan is to use the technology to build several more enterprise voice AI products.
Voice space is heating quickly 🔥
https://venturebeat.com/2017/11/06/will-i-ams-startup-raises-117-million-and-launches-bot-engine-for-enterprise-market/
VentureBeat
Will.i.am’s startup raises $117 million and launches bot engine for enterprise market
(Reuters) – I.am+, the tech startup founded by pop star and entrepreneur will.i.am, has raised $117 million in venture funding, the company told Reuters on Monday as it announced its entry in…
This is an absolute game changer! 🔥
In today's Messenger Platform 2.2 updates the Customer Chat plugin was announced.
We've all wanted to extend the Messenger experience to website visitors and now you can.
How does this improve your process?
1. No more asking for an email address to engage with a potential customer with a likely tiny CTR.
2. No need to direct website visitors away from your site via a "Send to Messenger" button to chat with your Messenger bot, potentially never seeing them again.
3. Instantly get access to full name, location, language, profile photo and gender which all can be used to segment and personalise future engagements.
4. Further qualify leads using Facebooks quick replies and rich UI which make it easy and enjoyable for visitors to give you more info about them
5. Hand over warm leads to live agents using Facebook's Handover protocol.
6. Hello open rates of 85% and CTR of 35% when re-engaging website visitors in Messenger.
Congrats the Messenger team and to Chatfuel for being a launch partner for this feature.
https://messenger.fb.com/blog/2-2-release/
In today's Messenger Platform 2.2 updates the Customer Chat plugin was announced.
We've all wanted to extend the Messenger experience to website visitors and now you can.
How does this improve your process?
1. No more asking for an email address to engage with a potential customer with a likely tiny CTR.
2. No need to direct website visitors away from your site via a "Send to Messenger" button to chat with your Messenger bot, potentially never seeing them again.
3. Instantly get access to full name, location, language, profile photo and gender which all can be used to segment and personalise future engagements.
4. Further qualify leads using Facebooks quick replies and rich UI which make it easy and enjoyable for visitors to give you more info about them
5. Hand over warm leads to live agents using Facebook's Handover protocol.
6. Hello open rates of 85% and CTR of 35% when re-engaging website visitors in Messenger.
Congrats the Messenger team and to Chatfuel for being a launch partner for this feature.
https://messenger.fb.com/blog/2-2-release/
Alexa is coming to Japan! 🇯🇵
Amazon announced that Alexa, the brain behind the Amazon Echo, is coming to Japan, along with several Alexa-enabled devices: Amazon Echo, Echo Plus, and Echo Dot. Customers who want to help further the development of Alexa and the Echo family of devices may request an invitation to purchase devices beginning today.
This opens up new opportunities for developers in Japan and around the world. Starting today, you can build for voice with Alexa and reach customers in Japan with the Alexa Skills Kit (ASK), the collection of self-service APIs, tools, documentation, and code samples. And starting this month, developers can preview all AVS technical documentation and generally available development tools on the Japanese language Developer Portal, and can sign up for the developer preview. Hardware makers are already planning voice-driven experiences for customers in Japan through an invite-only customer preview program including Onkyo P3 speakers, Harman Kardon Allure, and Eufy Genie.
Tens of thousands of developers from around the world have already started developing voice experiences for Alexa. More than 250 skills will be available at launch with Alexa in Japan. Popular Japanese brands are already building skills for Japanese customers including: ALC PRESS INC., All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd., Hitachi, Ltd., JTB Corp., Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc., Nomura Holdings, Inc., The Pokémon Company, Shiseido Japan Co., Ltd., TV Asahi Corporation, ZENSHO HOLDINGS CO., LTD., and others.
https://developer.amazon.com/blogs/alexa/post/0fcba76b-7460-4975-8fad-833996f6a23e/alexa-skills-kit-now-available-in-japan
Amazon announced that Alexa, the brain behind the Amazon Echo, is coming to Japan, along with several Alexa-enabled devices: Amazon Echo, Echo Plus, and Echo Dot. Customers who want to help further the development of Alexa and the Echo family of devices may request an invitation to purchase devices beginning today.
This opens up new opportunities for developers in Japan and around the world. Starting today, you can build for voice with Alexa and reach customers in Japan with the Alexa Skills Kit (ASK), the collection of self-service APIs, tools, documentation, and code samples. And starting this month, developers can preview all AVS technical documentation and generally available development tools on the Japanese language Developer Portal, and can sign up for the developer preview. Hardware makers are already planning voice-driven experiences for customers in Japan through an invite-only customer preview program including Onkyo P3 speakers, Harman Kardon Allure, and Eufy Genie.
Tens of thousands of developers from around the world have already started developing voice experiences for Alexa. More than 250 skills will be available at launch with Alexa in Japan. Popular Japanese brands are already building skills for Japanese customers including: ALC PRESS INC., All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd., Hitachi, Ltd., JTB Corp., Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc., Nomura Holdings, Inc., The Pokémon Company, Shiseido Japan Co., Ltd., TV Asahi Corporation, ZENSHO HOLDINGS CO., LTD., and others.
https://developer.amazon.com/blogs/alexa/post/0fcba76b-7460-4975-8fad-833996f6a23e/alexa-skills-kit-now-available-in-japan