TOBi, Vodafone’s digital assistant, lands for the first time on smart speakers debuting with Alexa which, just today, is launched in Italy by Amazon. Tobi began its journey by appearing on all digital channels Vodafone, from the app MyVodafone to Vodafone.it, and then also debuted on our Facebook page. Today TOBi has more than 1 million conversations per month, and the numbers continue to grow.
With the launch of TOBi’s Alexa Skill we are inaugurating a new digital channel with which our customers can interact with voice, in an easy and immediate way. This step represents a revolution in the interaction with our brand and another step in building a digital relationship that is always avant-garde and innovative.
What TOBi can do about Alexa
Alexa, and in general every smart speaker, is perfect for asking TOBi all those simple and recurring questions that, in this way, are always at hand: from the remaining credit to checking how many giga you still have available until you know how many smiles you have on Vodafone Happy. To invoke our digital assistant just say “Alexa, ask TOBi…” directly from the couch. Tobi can also do many other more complex things that are not available on Alexa: in these cases TOBi invites the customer to use our main digital channels where, if necessary, you can always talk or chat with a Vodafone Customer Service consultant.
Smart speakers and digital assistants
Although smart speakers are still a very limited phenomenon, especially in Italy where both Amazon and Google arrived this year, their potential is really important. With the advent of the IoT, the Internet of things, home automation will gradually begin to fill the homes of Italians. They will probably be one of the most sought-after gifts during this Christmas season: it is no coincidence that Amazon launched Echo immediately after the back to school to fully ride the sales peaks of Black Friday and Christmas. Even the price point, 35 euros for the cheapest version, suggests that the Seattle giant is serious and aims to put more than one device in each house. All to accustom the user to move from room to room in dialogue with Alexa.
An unprecedented revolution
Who will win the battle of smart speakers and that of virtual assistants is still to be seen: be it Google, Amazon, Apple or Facebook, the battle is just beginning. Of course, that of conversational interfaces, and voice, will be a revolution no less disruptive than have been mass internet 20 years ago or apps in the last 10 years.
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