Pindrop survey shows mixed public confidence in voice recognition
More than four out of five U.S. adults believe that there are benefits to using voice recognition for personal verification (81 percent), but just under half (48 percent) say they are likely to use it that way, according to survey results released by Pindrop.
The survey, conducted online by Harris Poll in November, also found that 94 percent say there are drawbacks to using voice recognition for personal verification. Sixty-one percent express concern that it may not work well due to background noise, and 60 percent say it may not be accurate every time. Almost half are concerned with voice spoofing, and close to 40 percent say it may not recognize accents or be secure. Not only do these results suggest some potential gains to be made for the technology through public education, but 31 percent say they are concerned with a lack of information on how it works.
“Pindrop Labs first looked at the limitations of current voice biometrics and specifically designed a voice biometric engine, in a deep neural architecture, that addresses the top consumer concerns such as channel independence, the emerging threat of voice synthesis and accuracy rates,” said Pindrop SVP of Product Scott Rose, referring to the January launch of the company’s Deep Voice engine.
Consumers are still calling customer support lines, and the survey shows close to half of Americans have contacted a company providing financial services (49 percent), healthcare (59 percent), insurance (54 percent), and telecommunications (60 percent) within the last 12 months.
More than a quarter of those surveyed who have accessed a healthcare or telecom account reported frustration with the experience. Requirements to answer a barrage of questions caused difficulty for over a quarter of those who found it difficult to access their account by phone.
“We are ushering in a new era of passive voice authentication that will create opportunities for brands to interact with their customers,” Rose said. “As consumers go beyond their phones and increase interactions with voice activated devices, it is crucial not to confuse personalization with security and identification.”
Pindrop notes that voice fraud costs U.S. organizations $14 billion annually inside call centers.
The company recently announced that Britain’s Shop Direct has signed on as a customer.
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