Voice search isn t the next big disruptor, conversational AI is

Virtual assistants and chatbots are opening up a whole new world for marketers, and voice search is just the beginning.

Within the search marketing space, there has been a lot of talk about voice search. Many are projecting voice search as the next big thing - in fact, as the next marketplace disruptor.



But the truth is, voice search probably isn t going to be the next big thing. Yes, voice search is disrupting text-based searches, and this is causing a few raised eyebrows. However, voice is only a small part of the disruption that s happening today.





I agree with the dissenting points of view that voice search isn t the next big disrupter; because I believe that conversational AI is.



Conversational AI is what s really disrupting and shifting the consumer behavior, and voice search is just a component of that bigger picture.



There, I said it.



Now, let s talk about it. It s hard to distinguish between voice search and voice-assisted engagements through digital assistance (aka conversational AI). So, my intention here is to outline the differences between these two entities and explain what you, as marketers, need to do to take advantage of both.



Voice search vs. conversational AI

When you think about voice search, it s actually not that revolutionary. The AI-based technology of natural language processing that enables voice search is pretty awesome and amazing; however, voice search is just a mode in which people are engaging with search engines.



There are three ways that people can engage with the search engines. They can engage through typing or text, their voice or conversation, and through images. Voice search essentially involves doing a query using voice instead of text. That s the only difference.



When we think about the difference between voice search and conversational AI (the voice assistance component) what s important to recognize is that searches are continuously happening. It s just how people are conducting the search that s shifting and disrupting the marketplace.



Voice assistance is using your voice to engage with some sort of intelligent technology — like a digital assistant, a chatbot, or potentially even a voice skill — to ask a question and find an answer or to control other technology and the IoT.



Here s the big differentiator: Instead of using Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc. directly, we are now asking questions of, and talking with, third parties like Alexa, Cortana, Google Assistant, Siri, and the like.



Those third parties are typically digital assistants that engage with our voice. So, nowadays, I say, Hey, Siri , Hey, Cortana , Okay, Google or Hey, Alexa, whenever I have a question or something I want information about.



The digital assistants then engage directly with their corresponding search engine to tap into the knowledge graph as well as their specific knowledge repository to provide a response and an answer. Search is the intelligence platform powering intelligent agents.



That s conversational AI, and it s changing the way people engage with search.