Voice assistants & co.: Why first names don't just have advantages

Human-sounding names for artificial intelligence: Amazon and Apple have set standards with Alexa and Siri that many companies are now following. Voice assistants, chatbots and robots develop something akin to the status of a good friend or family member through constant dialog, which is why IBM calls its cognitive computer technology Watson and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg calls an artificial intelligence he developed Jarvis - after the comic character of the same name. Samsung's digital assistant is called Bixby and a robot at Munich Airport is called Josie Pepper.Bosch recently presented a virtual passenger called Casey and - in cooperation with Siemens - a voice assistant for the kitchen called Mykie. The start-up Mayfield Robotics also comes from Bosch with its domestic robot Kuri.

Human names have a sympathetic effect

Some Siri, Bixby, Mykie, Josie, Casey, Kuri: these brand names sound cute, reduce fear of contact and build trust. From the manufacturers' point of view, this is urgently needed, as skepticism and fear still prevail among many people when it comes to artificial intelligence, as confirmed by a study published by digital communications agency Syzygy in October 2017. It confirms that most respondents have an ambivalent relationship with artificial intelligence. The interest in the new technology is accompanied by pronounced negative feelings such as mistrust and fear, but despite all the scepticism, users also recognize the advantages of AI - for example, the time saved when voice assistants do things on demand or energy savings through smart home applications. "This is where an emotional naming strategy can come in," explains Nomen CEO Sybille Kircher. "Personifying names actually have advantages against this backdrop. They draw attention away from the technical performance of the product and towards the user benefits. Because they sound familiar, even skeptical customers are more likely to trust the product and are willing to try out the intelligent technology."

Why first names reach their limits

But what happens when more and more new intelligent, voice-controlled devices with similar names come onto the market? "Customers quickly get bored of interchangeable names," warns brand expert Sybille Kircher. "At some point, they won't want to hear any more first names." This is not a tragedy from the customer's point of view, as they will simply turn to new, more exciting alternatives. The situation is different for the manufacturer. If the name does not sufficiently distinguish the product from the competition, it will no longer be noticed and the innovation will fizzle out.

Sound beats content

Some manufacturers are experimenting with other naming approaches, but these also have disadvantages. Toyota, for example, is trying to create a link to the Toyota brand with its Yui voice assistant and the letter Y. But is this message really getting through or are people more likely to stumble over the pronunciation? noun boss Sybille Kircher is certain: "The sound of a name has long been more important than the content. In future, the success of the brand will depend even more on whether it is easy to pronounce and phonetically clearly detectable."

Conclusion: What will be important in naming in the future

Manufacturers can support the future viability of their brand names by- carefully checking the pronounceability for different target groups, cultural groups and age groups and weighing up possible risks.- ensuring that the name can be clearly recognized by voice control systems.- thinking internationally and avoiding phonetic confusion (with other brand names, but also with personal names or terms from the general vocabulary).- choosing a name that is sustainable in the long term and still works when devices can be controlled via gestures and facial expressions, for example.