Voice commerce is the purchase of goods online using voice commands. To search for the desired products, users give commands to voice assistants such as Amazon Alexa, Google Home, Siri, etc. For example, "I want to buy Puma running shoes." The assistant recognizes the user's voice command, converts it into a request, and finds a relevant result. Unlike simple voice search, which works within search engines, this search also works on the website of an online store. The voice assistant will take the user to the online store's catalog or product page, where they can learn more about the offer.
To improve the user experience, voice commerce also involves the use of artificial intelligence. It studies the user's browsing history, past purchases, and other information that will allow the voice assistant to understand the person's preferences. The voice assistant will predict which products the user likes and offer them.
The new approach to searching for products challenges businesses. Online stores will need to consider the peculiarities of voice queries in their promotion, especially in SEO optimization of content. Voice commands are noticeably different from ordinary search queries and resemble a normal conversation with a salesperson. This will entail changes in the semantic core of the online store.
Despite the development of assistants, voice commerce remains a very new and relatively raw technology. Implementation of voice commerce is mainly done by large companies, such as Amazon. For ordinary online stores, the use of voice commerce is not entirely reasonable. The implementation of such a system is expensive, and users are still unfamiliar with the principles of voice commerce. People do not yet fully trust voice assistants—some believe that they can be eavesdropped on. There may also be problems with command recognition, but this issue will disappear in the future as voice assistants and artificial intelligence improve.
