Bullitt, Tell Me a Joke
Automakers are flaunting future cars equipped with voice recognition systems. At the recent Mercedes-Benz Voice of the Car Summit, company and guest speakers discussed innovation in speech recognition and speech control, and described a fanciful future in which you can not only use your voice to control the car’s inside air temperature, but also have a semi-intelligent dialog with your car’s built-in assistant.
Judging by the very passionate speakers at the event, there are individuals who actually like to hold conversations with their cars. They even give them names (mostly female names, although “Bullitt” was also showcased) and use them not only while in the car, but also when talking about it.
Which, of course, is perfectly OK. But does having voice control features create a large enough market that is worth investing millions of R&D dollars in? And even if, as the speakers at the event suggest, voice control does offer a market differentiation, how long will it be before most vehicles are equipped similarity? Some forecasts project that by 2028, voice assistants will be embedded in nearly 90% of new vehicles sold globally. Where is the edge?
And just how much extra will consumers be willing to pay for the ability to turn up the heat by speaking to the car instead of turning a knob the old fashion way?
And how much personalization will consumers tolerate? It may be OK to give the virtual assistant in your car access to your contact list and appointments calendar so she (it’s always a ‘she’) can help schedule appointments while driving, but would you want her to be interested in your state of mind? At the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show, Frank Paluch, President of Honda R&D America described a built-in “emotional engine” that detects emotions behind certain decisions: “When the driver is feeling good about himself [the car] will play happy music, and is the driver is feeling a little bit stressed or a little bit dad, it will make the music more appropriate for that setting.”
Wrong Business Model
Mercedes-Benz and other major automakers are making substantial investments in hardware and software to improve speech recognition and are adding personalization features that enhance the robustness and usability of the system and make the interaction more personal.
These systems are built into and are inseparable from the car. That means that your profile is attached to your vehicle and you can enjoy the experience only when you are in your car, but not if you happen to use your spouse’s car or rent one from a carsharing service.
Associating a personal service with the vehicle identification number (VIN) is almost always wrong. While some services, such as telematics and vehicle diagnostics, are obviously VIN-specific, most others are not. Here is another example. If you a AAA roadside assistance service, it is in your name, not your car’s. If you need assistance while you are in someone else’s car, would AAA refuse to help you?
Studies show that the majority of voice-assisted activities are not vehicle-related or even travel related. The most common voice-assisted activity by far (80%) is making phone calls. About 50% is asking for directions and navigation, and then there is a long list of routine activities such as playing music or listening to a podcast, asking about a movie and placing a takeout order.
Consumers find using the in-vehicle voice assistant less satisfying than when using a familiar system such as Amazon Alexa or Apple Siri.
According to a survey by J.D. Power, “The desire to carry over the same brand voice service from the home is high overall with 76% of respondents stating they probably or definitely would want the same brand of voice service they have at home to be on their next vehicle.” The reasons for that are twofold: There’s no need to learn a new technology, and your personal preferences– music playlist, frequent destinations and favorite coffee shops–are available through the cloud and your mobile devices whether you are at home, in your car, or in an Uber. The experience is consistent and seamless.
The VIN-centric model that was born with GM’s OnStar decades ago is outdated and OEMs using this mindset will not win in the battle with technology providers. A better approach would be to work with leading technology providers to enable tight and safe integration between the consumers’ mobile device and vehicle systems. Some OEMs, for instance Toyota, including Lexus, are heading in this direction.
And while a hard pill to swallow, OEMs should create the technical architecture to enable the voice assistant to control certain vehicle infotainment and comfort features.