BURLINGTON, Mass., – April 26, 2016 – Today from the Opus Research Intelligent Assistants and Intelligent Authentication Conference, Nuance Communications, Inc. shared results of a recent survey relating to consumer preferences and expectations around customer self-service. The findings show an overwhelming majority (89%) of consumers prefer and, in fact, expect a conversational interaction when it comes to customer service, with 87% reporting that a positive interaction with a company will determine whether that consumer continues their relationship with the company.

Recent survey data has shown that the majority of consumers prefer to interact with businesses through intelligent and conversational systems when it comes to seeking customer service across the Web, mobile, and phone channels (interactive voice response or IVR). For example, a 2016 global survey commissioned by Nuance showed that:

• 89% of consumers want to engage in conversation with virtual assistants to quickly find information instead of searching through Web pages or a mobile app on their own. This is the same for the phone channel, where the majority of consumers indicated they prefer to engage with a system that lets them speak naturally when calling a business.
• 73% of consumers want their conversation with customer service to be personalized.
• 64% of consumers want their customer service to be proactive in nature, with suggestions and reminders.
• Consumers want a conversational, personalized and proactive interaction throughout the entire service experience, including authentication, with 83% of respondents seeking an alternative to passwords and PINs and the majority eager to use voice biometrics as the method to identify themselves.

This week, Nuance will be participating in the Opus Research IA Conference, where executives from Nuance, Swedbank, USAA and others will take the stage to share their experiences and vision on how intelligent assistants, artificial intelligence (AI), and voice biometrics specifically can improve the customer experience. The full agenda can be found here, of particular note are the following sessions:

• Executive Summit - Focus on the Enterprise, Sebastian Reeve, Director Product Management & Marketing EMEA, Nuance
• Beyond Q&A – AI for Intelligent Assistants, Mark Hanson, Senior Director and World Wide Head of the Cognitive Innovation Group (CIG), Nuance
• Voice Authentication Success Stories, Brett Beranek, Director of Product Strategy, Voice Biometrics, Nuance
• Case Study: Swedbank, Martin Kedbäck, Channel Owner, Swedbank. Announced yesterday, Swedbank is using a virtual assistant to deliver a more human-like, conversational customer experience leveraging Nuance Nina.
• Keynote Panel: “This is Our Moonshot” - The USAA Experience Challenge, Darrius Jones, AVP Enterprise Innovation, USAA
• Panel: Future of Secure, Multi-channel Intelligent Assistance, Brett Beranek, Director of Product Strategy, Voice Biometrics, Nuance

With the face of customer service always changing, organizations large and small have to be ready to meet consumers where they are – with the right answers, at the right time, with a consistent experience, and even be ready to anticipate their customers’ needs. During this week’s conference, Nuance will showcase Nuance Nina, the intelligent virtual assistant, which delivers a compelling, multi-channel, automated customer service experience. Executives will also be on-hand to discuss how automated self-service systems can learn and improve through collaboration with humans, delivering a balanced approach to artificial intelligence that drives real value in the customer service ecosystem.

Nuance will also showcase its voice biometrics solutions, which have been adopted by organizations globally as a more natural, effortless, and accurate way to authenticate customers securely by allowing them to use their voice as their password. Consumers are no longer forced to remember PINs, passwords, or security questions when proving their identity and instead can conveniently and effortlessly use their voice to log in.

To learn more about Nuance’s portfolio of customer service solutions, go here.

Conference Details

What: Nuance at the 2016 Opus Intelligent Assistants and Intelligent Authentication Conference

When: April 26-27, 2016

Where: Grosvenor House Hotel, London

Why: Nuance is showcasing its broad portfolio of intelligent customer service solutions powered by artificial intelligence at the 2016 Opus Intelligent Assistants and Intelligent Authentication Conference. Executives from Nuance as well as several leading financial services organizations will speak about the positive impact of virtual assistants and voice biometrics in providing a more intuitive and engaging experience for customers.

For media: To make an appointment to speak with an executive from Nuance, please contact Vanessa Richter at +32 475769507 or Erica Hill at 781-888-5518.

Methodology

Source: The Conversational Interface Preferences survey findings included in this press release were fielded by independent panel research firm, AYTM, and commissioned by Nuance Communications, Inc. Responses were generated from a survey among 425 consumers worldwide. All respondents were over the age of 18. The margin of error for the survey is +/-4%.

About Nuance Communications, Inc

Nuance Communications, Inc. is a leading provider of voice and language solutions for businesses and consumers around the world. Its technologies, applications and services make the user experience more compelling by transforming the way people interact with devices and systems. Every day, millions of users and thousands of businesses experience Nuance’s proven applications. For more information, please visit www.nuance.com.

Nuance and the Nuance logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Nuance Communications, Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States of America and/or other countries. All other company names or product names may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

Nuance Communications Contact

US
Erica Hill
781-888-5518
erica.hill@nuance.com

EMEA
Vanessa Richter
+32 475769507
vanessa.richter@nuance.com