Amazon Expands Call Center Business Technology With Voice Recognition

As Amazon sees new demand for cloud services because of the pandemic, the company has announced voice recognition as part of its new services suite for call center businesses, Reuters reported.

Andy Jassy, who runs Amazon Web Services (AWS), the company’s division for the firm’s cloud computing services, said the new product would be called Amazon Connect Voice ID, according to Reuters. It will use machine learning to authenticate customers dialing into call centers.

Jassy said the new product will aim to build a voice print for customers who want to save time on calls, Reuters reported.

Voice authentication is the latest development from AWS in biometrics, attracting the critiques of civil liberties advocates due to use by police, according to Reuters. In June, Amazon put a year-long moratorium on using the tech for police services.

Enterprises using the service, Reuters reported, can set how confident the program has to be for automatic authentication, or for manual confirmation to be needed. With a new machine learning tool, Amazon can let call centers get answers and personalize customer service.

The demand for Amazon’s cloud services has risen during the pandemic, particularly for call center tools. Jassy said the pandemic had accelerated that particular demand by several years, with over 5,000 customers looking for help with the Amazon Connect service, including U.K. grocer Morrisons.

Cloud computing has grown notably in recent years, especially during the pandemic this year, according to research from London-based analytics company GlobalData.

The report said cloud computing is the “dominant model” for delivering and maintaining IT resources that encompass everything from hardware and software to platforms and tools for developers. The fact that so many people are working from home during the pandemic has accelerated the usage and could permanently change how some businesses operate.

In addition, the report stated cloud services can offer better flexibility and more efficient resources and costs.