Why type when you can use voice search? MindMeld launches new platform

MindMeld's voice activation will let you search Spotify and control your smart home

By Stephanie Topacio Long December 11, 2015

Gathering information and getting answers quickly keeps getting easier. Internet searches have largely replaced reference books, and now voice searches and voice assistants are picking up the baton so you don’t have to use your hands. MindMeld (formerly Expect Labs) launched a new platform that companies can use to add voice interfaces, including question-answering and language-understanding capabilities, to apps and devices.

Consumers are increasingly using voice support and voice search, with some 60 percent of smartphone owners using the latter capabilities, according to MindMeld. Voice assistants help users find answers to everything from the weather to what’s going on in pop culture to trivia. However, MindMeld’s research indicates that consumers want such capabilities on more of their devices, not just their smartphones.

MindMeld 2.0 is currently in trial by music streamer Spotify and other online services. Using the platform, the companies look to transform the customer experience, whether that be using voice to provide recommendations, answer questions, or search products. Some of MindMeld’s current uses include browsing through music and video content, checking weather, and working with connected home devices, for example.

In a video showing off MindMeld’s capabilities compared to Apple TV’s, both did well in voice searches asking questions such as “Which Steven Spielberg movies star Harrison Ford?” but apparently the latter can’t help you if you want to see the Oscar-winning movies of 2014. But it’s not just about movies and music. MindMeld wants its voice activation to be integrated into your smart home, too, so you can turn on and off the lights just by saying so.

MindMeld calls the voice experiences that it helps enterprises create “Star Trek-like.” The company looks to bring voice features to their apps, websites, and devices that will work to provide customer support, information, and more.

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Stephanie Topacio Long is a writer and editor whose writing interests range from business to books. She also contributes to…

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