As Voice Security Expands Beyond the Call Center, Brands Need to Develop Strong, Frictionless Multi-Factor Authentication for Consumer Devices
ATLANTA, GA – [April 11, 2018] – Pindrop®, the pioneer in voice security and authentication, today released the results of their survey, conducted online by Harris Poll in November 2017 among over 3,000 U.S. adults ages 18+, investigating consumer sentiment around the security of voice interactions as a form of personal verification, finding the vast majority (81%) believe there are benefits to using voice recognition as a form of personal verification. Not only do 81% find benefits, nearly half of Americans (48%) said they would be likely to use voice recognition as a form of personal verification.
The study also assessed consumer engagement with financial institutions, retailers, healthcare providers and other major omnichannel organizations. Findings indicate that roughly half of Americans contacted financial service companies (49%), healthcare companies (59%), insurance companies (54%), and telco companies (60%), via phone with a customer service inquiry in the last 12 months. About one in ten Americans contacted healthcare companies (15%), insurance companies (9%) and financial service companies (11%) via phone more than five times per year.
Consumer Frustration
Consumers may be dissatisfied with current verification methods used to protect their personal information. More than one in four Americans who have accessed an account at a healthcare company (28%) or TV/telecom company (27%) by phone expressed frustration with their experience. Among those who have found it difficult to access their accounts* by phone, burdensome requirements to answer numerous identity verification questions is the cause of this difficulty for over one quarter of them (28%). Additionally, nearly one in five (18%) have found it difficult because they forgot the answers to their security questions and were locked out of their accounts.
“We are ushering in a new era of passive voice authentication that will create opportunities for brands to interact with their customers,” said Scott Rose, SVP of Product, Pindrop. “As consumers go beyond their phones and increase interactions with voice activated devices, it is crucial not to confuse personalization with security and identification.”
Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt Abound
One key finding in the study highlights that roughly four out of five Americans (81%) believe there are benefits to using voice recognition as a form of personal verification. However, concerns remain as 94% believe there are drawbacks to this process. The top reasons for concern include:
- 61%: May not work well because of background noise (channel independence)
- 60%: May not work accurately every time (low EER)
- 48%: Voice can be cloned and used against them (voice spoofing)
- 43%: May have difficulty recognizing accents
- 39%: May not be secure
- 36%: Requires you to speak loudly and clearly (channel independence)
- 31%: Lack of info on how voice as personal verification works
“In January, Pindrop released the first-of-its-kind Deep Voice™ biometric engine that is able to recognize a consumer by their voice, even with short command-like utterances in a passive manner,” Rose said. “Pindrop®Labs first looked at the limitations of current voice biometrics and specifically designed a voice biometric engine, in a deep neural architecture, that addresses the top consumer concerns such as channel independence, the emerging threat of voice synthesis and accuracy rates.”
The Frictionless Conversational Economy
In the emerging conversational economy, brands are reimagining voice activated consumer experiences. Enterprise level security and multi-factor authentication is the necessary next step for all industries creating new opportunities for frictionless customer experiences. As more channels become voice-activated, fraudsters will leverage emerging technologies such as voice synthesis to impersonate consumers. Today, voice fraud costs organizations in the U.S. $14 billion each year within call centers alone.
Methodology
This survey was conducted online, within the United States, by Harris Poll on behalf of Pindrop from November 13-15, 2017 among 3,345 U.S. adults ages 18 and older. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables and subgroup sample sizes, please contact [email protected].
*Accounts listed include: include financial, travel/hospitality, utilities, insurance, TV/telecoms, retail, and healthcare
About Pindrop
Pindrop® solutions are leading the way to the future of voice by establishing the standard for identity, security and trust for every voice interaction. Pindrop solutions protect some of the biggest banks, insurers, and retailers in the world using patented technology that extracts an unrivaled amount of intelligence from every call and voice encountered. Pindrop solutions help detect fraudsters and authenticate callers, reducing fraud and operational costs, while improving customer experience and protecting brand reputation. Pindrop, a privately held company, headquartered in Atlanta, GA, was founded in 2011 and is venture-backed by Andreessen Horowitz, Citi Ventures, Felicis Ventures, CapitalG, GV, and IVP. For more information, please visit pindrop.com.
Media Contact
Ken Shuman
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