Last weekend, I was browsing YouTube to see how children interact with new and/or emerging technologies. That’s when I came across the video below.
Questions such as, “How will speech technology affect the user interface?” and “Will we even have a user interface in 10 years?” came to mind and inspired me to write this blog.
Unsolicited
Although voice recognition technology doesn’t always work perfectly yet, the video does give a good indication of upcoming developments in the field of user interfaces. Now, this example is a bit extreme, but I think everyone can relate to the situation where you’re in the middle of a conversation and Siri jumps in unprompted to answer your questions.
Evolution
Speech technology is the next major evolution in communicating with systems. While many SAP-using organizations are still grappling with the latest major changes to the user interface (SAP Fiori), new technologies are poised to take over the functions of current apps. Technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) may still sound like a thing of the future, but they will soon be the beating heart of your IT landscape.
Technologies such as ML and AI will continue to evolve in the coming years, allowing systems to operate with increasing autonomy. If we add voice control to this, as in the example above, you could say to the computer, “Order 10 Model X laptops for me from supplier Y,” and the system will take care of everything.
This may sound strange, but for the generation currently in elementary school, using voice commands to control devices is an everyday reality and the most natural thing in the world. They’re growing up with voice-activated assistants. For example, they already control their iPads using Siri and listen to music by asking Alexa to play it.
This trend is continuing!
SAP is investing heavily in AI and ML across its entire product portfolio. As a result, many processes are achieving a high degree of efficiency. Two products that take advantage of this new way of interacting with SAP are “Conversational AI” and “CoPilot.”
This technology supports chatbots. Online stores use chatbots to help customers by automatically answering the most frequently asked questions. When questions become more complex, the chatbot connects you with a help desk representative.
Conversational AI
But why stop at automating the FAQs? In addition to the FAQs, you can also help customers place their orders or track their order status. The smarter chatbot is making its debut with Conversational AI, which answers customer questions even better.
CoPilot
This feature is very similar to the chatbot functionality described above. However, CoPilot is geared more toward internal employees than external users or customers. With CoPilot, employees can complete their tasks in the workflow via a chat function or voice commands.
All of this happens in real time and interactively with the SAP system. By simply sending a command to the SAP system—such as “Create supplier X” or “Place an order for 10 laptops of type Y from supplier X”—everything is handled automatically for the user.
The SAP system creates the vendor, generates an ATB for the laptops, and returns the corresponding vendor and document numbers to the user. The user then moves on to the next step in the process to obtain approval.
Can I throw my keyboard out the window?
As you saw in the video—and perhaps know from your own experience—voice control doesn’t always work flawlessly yet. But we’re getting closer and closer. Voice recognition technologies are often combined with machine learning, making these applications increasingly “smarter.” Systems are becoming increasingly capable of understanding languages and dialects and carrying out commands. As a result, the user interface as we know it today will change drastically.
I’m not saying you should go out and ditch your keyboard and monitor tomorrow and swap them for a speaker with a built-in microphone. But the days of communicating with SAP through a standard user interface are numbered. Chatbots and autonomous systems will soon be commonplace. Just think about that! I’m curious to hear your ideas and expectations!
Would you like to learn more about chatbots?
At the end of September, INNOV8iON, in collaboration with the SAP Cloud Platform Community, is organizing a hands-on session on programming chatbots. If you’d like to learn more or gain experience with this new technology, please contact Xander Rijken.
