Your weekly briefing on all things AI

AI voice technology has unlocked an interesting phenomenon where businesses can automate experiences previously un-automatable. How many times have you called into customer service and shouted in exasperation “Can’t I just talk to a human!?” As voice technology improves, and AI agents develop more capabilities, it’ll be the businesses or doctors’ offices that don’t have this tech that will feel frustratingly inconvenient. For anyone who has ever struggled to place a food order over the phone, listen to the difference AI makes:

More than this, what happens when we can start automating other frontiers of the human experience? Empathy, touch, and smell are already on the table…

Let’s dive in:

> AI Generated Voice Market Booms

> Smell as a New Frontier for AI

> The Tool Developers Are Turning to for AI-Driven Apps

> Prompt Tip: How Focusing on Audience Emotions Drives Success

Demand for AI Voice is Hot

SoundHound, a conversational AI voice technology company, released earnings on Tuesday and said its Q3 sales rose 89% year over year to $25.1 million and their full year projections show 83% growth… but they’re not the only Voice AI company growing.

The AI voice generator market is booming, set to soar from $1.73 billion in 2023 to a staggering $4.29 billion by 2028. This rapid growth is fueled by the increasing demand for AI in advertising & media, virtual assistants, and automated customer service.

As Dvir Hoffman, CEO of CommBox, articulated well in a roundtable about AI Voice/CRM integration, “Voice is still the main channel that many customers use.”

Both internal and customer facing voice agents can enhance engagement, streamline processes, and create a competitive edge through personalized, context-aware interactions. AI voice can also enable advertisers and content creators to exponentially amplify their media creation. (blog.tbrc)

More Stories

• Meta Develops Robotic Hands that Can Sense Touch. (techcrunch)

• Anthropic Hires Researcher To Explore Moral Obligations to AI Systems. (transformernews)

• Alibaba Releases B2B Search Engine For Sourcing Products With AI Compiled Results. (pymnts)

• Box File Sharing App Expands with an AI-Powered Enterprise Studio and No-Code Apps for More Than Data Sharing. (venturebeat)

• Google’s Gemini AI Voice Assistant Now Available on the iPhone. (rueters)

• Amazon Offers $110 Million in Grants and Credits to Attract AI Researchers. (techcrunch)

• DeepL Introduces DeepL Voice for Real-Time Voice and Video Translations. (techcrunch)

Real Estate | Janover, AI Tool for CRE, Gets a Voice

This Monday Janover announced the launch of its newest technology: an advanced AI voice tool designed to engage clients with seamless, natural conversation while performing complex, real-time CRM operations. Currently in internal use and soon available for licensing, this tool is poised to redefine how the real estate industry can manage customer relationships. (finance.yahoo)

Healthcare | AI Brings Clarity to Insurance Plan Benefits

Nava Benefits has teamed up with OpenAI to launch an AI assistant that helps employees navigate health plans and track deductibles, offering 24/7 support. While the AI answers basic questions, human advocates step in for more complex issues. This tool aims to make healthcare benefits easier to understand and more accessible as costs continue to rise. (benefitnews)

Finance & Banking | AI Voices Disrupt Bank Verification Processes

Ben Udell, SVP at Lake Ridge Bank, warns of AI voices’ impact on existing client verification processes. What used to be a technologically advanced defense mechanism, with the advancement of voice ai, has become a critical vulnerability. Imagine fraudsters using a near-perfect voice imitation to bypass security protocols, authorize transactions, or extract sensitive information. (thefinancialbrand)

Technology | AI That Smells 

Osmo, an AI company founded by Alex Wiltschko, has effectively digitized smell. Using advanced odor sensors, the device analyzes chemical compositions to distinguish genuine items from counterfeits with 95% accuracy. Osmo is also able to capture a scent profile and then reproduce that same scent in a lab... ever wanted to “bottle-up that smell?” (fastcompany)

Retail & E-commerce | Amazon Starts Up Drones Again

Amazon's recent resumption of drone delivery in Phoenix highlights the growing interest in autonomous delivery solutions. As part of a broader industry trend, companies like Walmart and Alphabet’s Wing are also advancing drone logistics, signaling a shift toward integrating drones into mainstream delivery. While promising, these initiatives still face challenges, including regulatory and operational hurdles. (techcrunch) 

Media & Entertainment | AI Bringing Photos To Life

ByteDance's X-Portrait 2 AI turns still photos into lifelike video performances, using TikTok's vast data to create highly realistic facial expressions. This innovation could revolutionize ad production and media, offering a cheaper alternative to traditional methods. However, it also raises critical concerns about content authenticity and digital misinformation. (venturebeats)

CopilotKit: Have an App? Build 24/7 In-App Assistance For Your Users

CopilotKit makes it easy for businesses to exponentially increase their app’s usability with a bot that can coach users, retrieve user information, and even take in-app actions on behalf of users. Whether it is an internal app for business operations or something customer-facing, technology like this is a boon for increasing usage and usefulness. (copilotkit)

More Tools:

• TalkDesk for Healthcare automates personalized patient interactions via text, email, and phone.

• 11x.ai has developed an automated call center agent and SDR that can operate autonomously 24/7.

• Sona accurately captures, transcribes, and summarizes conversations in over 99 languages.

• Kwrds.ai finds top keywords and trending questions to boost your content's reach.

• Revyou turns your reviews into powerful testimonials that build trust and attract more clients.

• Headline Trove offers real-time merchant insights for smarter fintech solutions and spending analysis.

• Loopple launches basic websites from a text prompt, effortless, fast and code-free.

• Claap: automates sales tasks and enforces key frameworks for efficiency and consistency.

• DevRev raises $100.8M in Series A funding, reaching a $1.15 billion valuation as an AI unicorn, to automate enterprise development workflows. (venturebeat)

• 11x.ai (mentioned above) raises $50M in a series B led by Andreessen Horowitz to power AI voice agents. (11x.ai)

• Inquis secures $40M for a pivotal trial of its clot removal device. (medtechdive)

• Spot AI raises $31M for its AI-powered video processing platform. (siliconangle)

• ForeFront RF acquires £16M to make smartphones and IoT devices more accessible. (techfundingnews)

• 81Ravens raises $4.5M for its Paravox Web3 arena shooter. (venturebeat)

• Workorb secures $2.6M to enhance AI-driven solutions for the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry. (founderstoday)

_. Prompting Tip _.

Create Powerful Content by Targeting Your Audience's Emotions

“Help me with customer research. Identify 10 frustrations, 10 wants, 10 fears, and 10 goals which are commonly experienced by people who (Enter topic or activity here). Format your response in a table.”

Afterwards, prompt ChatGPT with:

“Based on the ideas you listed above, come up with 40 social media content ideas to target my audience's emotions.”

This approach helps generate highly engaging, relatable content that resonates with the core desires and challenges of your target audience.