Alexa Assigns TÜV Appointments

TÜV Nord is expanding its digital offering: drivers can now arrange their appointments by voice input via Amazon's Echo devices.

Via the command €»Alexa, start TÜV Nord€« the virtual contact person €»Laura€« answers and leads the user to the appointment reservation. The user receives further information, for example which documents are required for a general inspection. At the end, a confirmation email is sent.

In a virtual conversation, the user can also ask questions. However, the Amazon skill does not work completely automatically: if the software does not have a suitable answer to a question, it refers to a free service number after two inquiries.

With the voice-based appointment booking, TÜV Nord is expanding its digital offering and reacting to the €»changed communication behavior of our customers€«, says Dirk Helmold, Sales and Marketing Manager at TÜV Nord Mobilität.

4.5 Million Smart Loudspeakers in Germany

Smart speakers with speech recognition are a relatively recent phenomenon. The market leader Amazon has only been selling its devices in Germany since the beginning of 2017 and, according to the market research company Strategy Analytics, has a market share of approximately 64 percent. Market researchers estimate that there are currently 4.5 million smart loudspeakers in German households.