Whispering Complaints Into Your Phone May Be the Future of Customer Feedback
Forget email surveys or long calls spent on hold. Voicebox lets people send customer feedback by recording a voice note on their phone.
The future of customer feedback may lie in whispering complaints into our phones, according to a new startup called Voicebox. CEO Karan Gupta envisions a day when workers will simply speak into desk microphones instead of typing on keyboards. Gupta believes this shift would make customer feedback more widespread and straightforward.
People often prefer to give feedback verbally, either positively or negatively, rather than enduring lengthy hold times on phone lines. Voicebox allows shoppers to provide feedback by scanning a QR code or tapping their phone to an NFC chip in a store, which then records their comments and sends them to the company's system. The feedback is automatically transcribed and rated for sentiment.
Companies can follow up via email if necessary. Voicebox has already partnered with airport terminals to gather traveler opinions on issues like bathroom cleanliness and gate directions. Recently, the company expanded its reach to include public feedback, such as emotional messages shared by Lena Dunham's book event attendees. Voicebox has also launched a "directory" feature, allowing users to share feedback anywhere and discover what others are saying publicly about a business.
This approach could eventually make customer feedback more like Google Maps, with crowd-sourced reviews. The voice-centric model highlights how natural dictation feels, potentially rendering traditional typing on smartphones as outdated. After learning about Voicebox, I opened the directory and searched for the startup itself, eager to share my voice.
Written by urgent.news from Wired's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
