Hey Siri, Hey Alexa, Hey Cortana
Siri, Alexa and Cortana are just a Hey away
AI (Artificially Intelligent) assistants such as Apple’s Siri, Amazon’s Alexa and Microsoft’s Cortana should either:
- Excite you or
- Scare the s*** out of you
Why would I say this?
Well the thing is the IoT is/has quietly and steadily become part of our everyday lives (What is the Internet of Things? (And Why You Should Care — A Lot)).
We are effectively “in the internet” and “don’t go on the internet”
thanks to the very nature of how we interact with our internet enabled devices such as our phones, TVs and homes for that matter.
Mobile use has exploded and the AI assistants I mentioned before are at our beckon call.
All we have to do is utter the words:
“Hey Siri”
Now if you watch the videos back more closely you should realise what is really going on here.
- All are aiming to make your life easier whilst directing you into their own ecosystem or their partners (those that paid to be at the top of your needs list)
- Becoming a gateway to fulfil your needs, saving you time or getting you stuff.
In both cases these AI assistants are becoming
The Gate Keepers to your life and more importantly your wallet
It is comparable to those frustrating times you want to meet with a company director but the PA or secretary will not give you access unless you have something to offer or are known to them.
These AI assistants are effectively becoming the next generation gate keepers.
By-passing traditional gate keepers such as search engines, directories etc and thus connecting customers directly to brands and sellers.
- In the Siri clip did you notice how Dwanye Johnson asked for a “Lyft” ride (a taxi ride company) and it was just there!
- Did you notice how Cortana mainly focused on reminders?
well, when he said “hey Cortana remind me of my anniversary on…” imagine if he added the words “and buy a dozen roses and a necklace from Tiffany’s to be delivered on…”
A great outcome for all involved – seamless execution, a happy partner and extra brownie points. - In the Alexa clip the pregnant lady asks Alexa to “ask Uber for a ride” effectively booking a taxi there and then whilst her partner was overwhelmed (poor guy).
It’s interesting how our needs are being cleverly and seamlessly matched with service/product providers, ultimately embedding into our daily conversations and lives.
There is a power play at hand and we can get in on it
Amazon and Microsoft seem to be making it obvious that they are going straight after Apple and Google with a collaboration on “Hey Cortana open Alexa“.
Apple have the lead because they seem to have leveraged the fact that they
- Have a device that everyone uses (iphone).
- A device that runs most peoples lives from texts/phone calls to scheduling their lives.
- Successfully trained the general public to use the commands “Hey Siri…”
- Linked these commands to a “baked in” browser that can search anything online and
- (more importantly) is directly linked to their own payment gateway!
This is extremely powerful and seems to be the direction things are going at breakneck speed.
If you don’t have an online presence and are not leveraging the platforms your customers and clients are using, its time to get on with it.
Siri, Cortana and Alexa wont find you if you don’t have a website, meaning neither will potential customers.
It’s only a matter of time before Facebook deploy their own incarnation then it will get really interesting!
2018 is going to be really interesting for businesses that embrace and adapt to the changes
or
potentially devastating for businesses that refuse to step away from the status quo, adapt and innovate.