Top virtual assistant companies are rapidly taking over traditional customer contact centers, becoming very popular particularly among young users that are potentially attracted toward the concept of computerized customer executives and self-service.
A combination of natural language processing and artificial intelligence is making it possible for a virtual assistant to possess large volumes of knowledge repositories and to solve almost all user queries with a more than 90 percent accuracy rate.
Choosing a virtual assistant that’s right for you, or for your company is a difficult process as there is a lot to consider. Last week, we wrote an article about The Pros and Cons of Virtual Assistant Technology which outline some good things to think about before choosing the right assistant for you!
Several factors including the demand for virtual assistants in enterprises with high customer contact volumes and increasing penetration of the internet worldwide are driving this market. The market is forecast to post a significant improvement in its growth rate to reach 42.07 percent by 2017, followed by a further improvement to witness a growth rate of 45.01 percent by 2018.
TechNavio analysts have identified the top 17 virtual assistant companies expected to help fuel this high level of market growth. Analysts have also compared each vendor’s virtual assistant products to provide a head-to-head comparison:
Top Virtual Assistant Companies
“A V-Person™ is a virtual assistant that uses natural language to intelligently answer questions and deliver personalised answers to your customers 24 hours per day/7 days per week. Customers get the sensation of communicating with a ‘real’ person who is able to answer their questions, understand the context, and deliver user specific content.”
“eGain Virtual Assistant™ is a lifelike, conversational agent providing a unique, interactive, and personal way for users to get answers and assistance on your website, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. A user simply chats with the virtual assistant (or chatbot) which acts as a guide, taking customers on a tour of the website, providing answers, guiding them in their shopping decisions, and seamlessly escalating to agent-assisted channels when necessary.”
“IntelliResponse is the leading provider of virtual agent technology solutions for the enterprise. We create profitable online conversations for our private and public sector customers worldwide. IntelliResponse is a true multi-channel virtual agent solution, with customers deploying our EVA solution simultaneously across multiple customer engagement touch points including: the web, social, mobile and agent channels.”
“Next IT delivers solutions that revolutionize how technology interacts with people. Our Alme natural language platform empowers users to get more done by doing what is most natural—having a conversation. Users can talk, type or tap and our industry-leading virtual assistants will deliver answers with guaranteed accuracy.”
“At Nuance, everything we do is focused on developing the most human, natural, intuitive ways to use your voice to take command of information. Our people and our technology have pioneered the highest functioning speech software in the world, ceaselessly perfecting the ability for machines to recognize and emulate the human voice.”
“ANBOTO provides technological solutions to enable an easy and smart interaction in natural language between customers and PCs (online and inline products or services included). Anboto is the first 5th Generation Virtual Vendor that is able to understand customer needs in an open dialogue as well as being proactive with suggestions to buy products and to present offers in real time.”
“Inbenta is a company specialized in Intelligent Customer Support software with Artificial Intelligence and Natural Language Processing, with offices in US, Europe and Brazil. Giving users the power to find relevant information online using Natural Language Processing prevents unnecessary support emails and calls, and leads to a higher self-service and deflection rates.”
Ecreations creative solutions consists of supplying and supporting custom made internet solutions and chatbots, interaction design and online marketing. Of course, seeing is believing. We would be pleased to introduce you personally to our showcases, so that you can form your own opinion.
The GetAbby platform is actually the combination of a human avatar programmed to use a unique integration of artificial intelligence and natural language capabilities. It’s this combination that gives Abby a distinct advantage over other non-human avatars. With a dynamic cognitive processing engine, Abby can interact naturally, allowing her to carry on a conversation.
Our goal is to be the first software to pass the Turing Test. This will be a major breakthrough in human machine communication, i.e. humans having conversations in natural language with machines. Imagine Siri but able to hold a conversation, not just a QA search. We built our own version of Siri that merges the scripted approach that Siri uses and blends it with our deep context.
Recently aquired by Intel, Indisys has successfully mirrored human intelligence, placing voice and natural language at customers’ service. This new generation of intelligent agents provides affordable high-end solutions for intelligent customer relationship management.
Speaktoit is a technology company working (tirelessly) on human-machine interfaces based on natural language interaction and predictive assistance. Our goal is to make working with everyday technology easier, more effective, and more fun so that you are free to enjoy the important things in life.
EWA, a chatbot created by Stanusch Technologies, is one of the most innovative and advanced product of this type in the world. It contains an enormous knowledge database including more than 1.5 million facts. It cooperates with the first Polish semantic search engine. It can be integrated with external databases.
Synthetix creates award winning customer service and knowledge-base software that engage your audience via the web, mobile phones and social networks – reducing e-mail and voice traffic to your call-centre by at least 25%. We’ve worked with some of world’s best known brands, transforming their online customer service and enabling millions of great customer experiences.
Our Virtual Assistants provide a single, accurate and relevant answer to every question customers ask online. More than that, they prompt every step in a customer’s journey by asking probing questions, making constructive suggestions and presenting compelling offers. They not only ‘answer’, they ‘interact’.
viClone is an Intelligent Virtual Agent: the most advanced technological solution using natural language processing and artificial intelligence, capable of providing assistance as if it were another employee in your company. Our technological solution allows you to provide personalized customer assistance and support in real time. It can assist your current and potential customers at the same time, in several languages, in turn significantly reducing the volume of common questions that reach you.
Virtual Agents can answer your customers’ questions 24 hours a day, seven days a week helping them find the information they need and taking them to pages within your site, offering a speedy alternative to making a phone call. Virtual Agent technology delivers valuable insights into customers’ behaviour and interaction with your brand that cannot be achieved with traditional web analytics.
Virtual Assistant Product Capabilities
| Company |
3D Persona with Emotions |
Mobile Solutions |
Concept Understanding |
Multiple Questions |
Analytics |
Social Dialogue |
| Anboto Group |
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| Creative Virtual Ltd. |
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| eGain Corp. |
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| GetAbby |
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| Existor |
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| Inbenta Technologies Inc. |
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| Indisys (Intel) |
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| IntelliResponse Systems Inc. |
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| Next IT Corp. |
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| Nuance Communication Inc. |
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| Speaktoit Inc. |
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| Stanusch Technologies |
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| Synthetix Ltd. |
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| SelfService Company |
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| ViClone Corp. |
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| Virtual Zone Ltd. |
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= High Significance = Moderate Significance = Low Significance
