Let's talk to Sam
I had fun exploring voice triggers in adobe XD. Creating interactions with only your voice poses some interesting challenges. What are the best ways to show that the application understood you? And how do we make sure there’s still an option to change your mind after you have said something? I created a video chat prototype to test it out.
For this challenge I created a simple scrollable list of people that someone could potentially start a conversation with. Using a voice trigger to get to the next screen, “Hey phone, call Sam” takes you to a series of thinking animations. These fun little loading animations help the caller understand the computer is processing your voice. This helps pass the time in an engaging way while the next set of options pop up. If nothing changed after someone tried a voice command, they might think it didn’t work.
After the computer is done thinking a couple of new prompts pop up. Text will inform the caller that they may call Sam by saying yes or no. The app will also speak to the caller saying, “Would you like me to call Sam?” This second response helps the user feel more comfortable using voice commands, as well as making the app more fun to use. Saying yes will activate the simulated call. To help the caller understand their voice was understood, the word yes will animate as the selected choice before engaging the call screen. This little acknowledgement helps to keep the caller informed through the entire process.
I think these micro interactions, while small, are extremely important so people don’t get stressed out not knowing if they did or said the correct thing. Guiding people every step of the way smooths out the experience to make sure there are as few questions as possible.
If you would like to try out these voice commands yourself, an Adobe account is required. You can access the prototype here. To activate the voice trigger, speak, “Hey phone, call Sam.” After the prototype responds, you may say, “Yes”, to activate the simulated call with Sam. Enjoy!