we revealing more or less about ourselves when using Voice Technology? //

Consumers are constantly interacting with internet-connected devices, which means that they give information about themselves. Voice technology is rapidly spreading and changing the way people interact with technology.

This question is answered in a new Journal of Marketing Article. We examine how voice technology affects what consumers say verbally (by providing information through language), as well as nonverbally, (by involuntarily disclosing information through paralanguage or ambient sound).

We present a framework to explain how voice technology affects consumers’ willingness to share information verbally. Our analysis shows that talking to technology can sometimes increase or decrease verbal disclosure. This framework can be used to determine when and how voice technology may make consumers more or less likely to share information verbally.

We will also discuss the use of voice technology to capture nonverbal disclosures which are usually voluntary. Consumers speak to connected devices using vocal paralanguage. This is the sound of the consumer’s voice, or the way they say something. Ambient sounds, such as sounds from the environment, can also be captured. These sounds reveal information about the consumer. This provides a summary of consumer states (emotions, health conditions, and current activities) as well as traits (habits. ethnicity. identity) that can be inferred through these nonverbal disclosures.

Marketing professionals may be interested

Marketers can use our practical suggestions to counteract the processes that make it less likely for consumers to share information verbally with connected devices. We also discuss how ambient sound and vocal paralanguage can be used in oral interactions with connected device to increase targeting effectiveness, specificity and context-awareness.

For policy makers

We offer suggestions to improve consumer protection against mechanisms which may misleadingly increase consumers’ likelihood of verbal disclosure when they speak to connected devices. We also discuss privacy issues arising from the collection and use of information inferred via vocal paralanguage or ambient sound during oral interactions with technology, in light of both U.S. privacy legislation and European privacy legislation.

Our analysis shows that voice technology can increase but also decrease disclosure. Policy makers can learn more about how to regulate voice technology’s collection and use of data in the interests of consumer welfare. Our analysis reveals that there should be greater privacy protections for information shared in oral interactions with technology.

See the complete article.

Source:Johann Melzner and Andrea Bonezzi, ” Information Disclosure In the Era of Voice Technology,” Journal of Marketing.

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