From Touch to Voice: The Future of Multimodal Interaction on Kiosk Screens

Touchscreen kiosks have become indispensable parts of many industries, especially food joints and movie theatres. However, kiosk technology has also evolved rapidly, with innovations like voice ordering and multimodal interactions being integrated into kiosk monitors. These advanced features enable the kiosk screen to provide a more intuitive, on-hand, and attractive client experience. They are now transforming how customers engage with businesses, ensuring comfort and increased personalisation when it comes to ordering.

Evolution of ordering kiosks

Touch screen kiosks for ordering have come a long way since their beginning. Initially, they would work like regular touch-screen devices to process orders and system payments. Then, as technology became more advanced and the expectations of customers increased, they began to contain extra sophisticated features, like custom-designed menus, upselling features and even integration with loyalty systems. Right now, the most important transformation in kiosk technology has been that of voice ordering and multimodal interactions.

Voice ordering is becoming more and more popular as one of the standards of contemporary ordering methods via kiosk services. A kiosk screen can now readily take orders by just hearing the instructions of customers via their voice. For this, the latest technology like artificial intelligence (AI) and natural language processing (NLP) are used. These kinds of technology allow customers to place their orders by speaking into a phone instead of having to type in every little detail on the screen. This change is more than just another innovation in kiosk technology. It solves many of the problems that have been cropping up when it comes to using just touch screen technology.

1. Better accessibility: Kiosk screens with voice ordering technology are more user-friendly for many customers. On top of this list are differently-abled people. For example, people who are blind or visually challenged can still use the kiosk screens to place their orders comfortably, if they can order via voice. Again, many users may find the touch-screen technology too complex to be able to use it. Using their voice, however, they can place their orders without any kind of difficulty. Persons with mobility limitations can also make great use of the voice-ordering feature on kiosk screens.

2. More efficiency: Voice ordering allows the customers to not only order comfortably, but much faster than they could have done with touch screen kiosks. This is because, going over all the pages of the menu, then selecting the order, checking it for accuracy and finally making the payment can take up some more time. This can hinder smooth workflow during peak hours. Voice ordering can accelerate the ordering system dramatically, doing away with long lines that can keep potential customers waiting. Instructions given on voice ordering systems can also bring down the chance of errors to a considerable extent. This is because AI keeps working at the back end of the voice ordering mechanism to make sure that the orders are verified with the existing systems.

3. Personalization and convenience: Voice ordering also allows customers to have a more customized experience than touchscreen interfaces can deliver. With voice ordering, customers can easily personalize their orders by specifying their options and preferences more organically as is possible with touchscreen technology. This is because, in voice ordering the customer himself specifies their needs, while in touch-based orders, they have to select from a range of options displayed on the screens. AI also contributes to this increased level of customization. It remembers the orders that have been placed by customers before. So, it can provide the customers with options for reordering a previous set of products if they may be looking to buy them again. This increased level of comfort not only enhances the experience of customers with the business but also encourages repeat orders.

4. Increased staff productivity: Since kiosks handle most of the orders in the current times, employees can be redirected to other important tasks. These may include space upkeep in the facility, customer service, or food preparation for restaurants. This increases the overall productivity of the employees and improves the satisfaction of customers by guaranteeing help with complex requests or questions.

Conclusion:

Voice ordering features have brought about a revolution in the current kiosk technology. It represents an essential shift in the way in which customers engage with businesses like food joints, movie theatres and retail sectors. By embracing multimodal customer interactions, kiosks can provide customers with a more accessible and personalized ordering experience, while also increasing employee productivity.