UXmatters: 2018

Voice First Versus the Multimodal User Interfaces of the Future

What will be the voice-technology winner of tomorrow—voice-first or multimodal user interfaces? Those working in the voice user-experience sector are avidly discussing this hot topic—and UX researchers, UX designers, developers, marketers, and entrepreneurs may find it of interest as well.

In this article, I’ll define the terms voice first and multimodal, using current products as examples, explore some use cases and rationales for different types of user interfaces, consider contemporary research, and conceptualize the future of voice user interfaces. Should you keep your product’s visual features?

Yes, because, ultimately, voice-enabled, multimodal user interfaces will be the preferred user experience.

“Ultimately, voice-enabled, multimodal user interfaces will be the preferred user experience.”

“Multimodal … user interfaces … incorporate both voice and visual elements.”

“Voice-first [is] the term for user interfaces whose primary or sole functionality is accessible through human speech.”

“Participants reported that some voice-first products felt “creepy” and were frustrating because the products often had significant difficulty understanding their speech.”