A virtual assistant is a program endowed with certain human qualities designed to solve certain tasks. For example, in business it helps to automate the process, in everyday life it helps to manage the house. The popularity of innovation is growing at an unprecedented pace – the market is expanding by 30% per year, and the list of areas for technology implementation is expanding. According to analysts, very soon more than half of all Internet requests will be made only by voice. Such a high popularity of innovation is not surprising. The already high pace of life continues to accelerate. People have less and less free time, so they are happy to delegate some of their daily tasks to artificial intelligence.
Why do I need a virtual assistant?

So, a voice assistant is a service or program created on the basis of artificial intelligence, endowed with a number of human capabilities. He hears human speech, understands it, knows how to answer, ask leading questions, execute commands. In other words, it is a complex neural network communication system, the main purpose of which is to save a person from pressing keyboard or screen buttons to perform an action.
At home, such systems take over the switching on and off of household appliances, act as reminders, can tell the time, the temperature outside the window, select a program on TV or a playlist, write an email and send it.
Many cars are already equipped with a voice control option: the driver can open the door without touching the handle, start the car, turn on music, air conditioning, find out if there is enough fuel and oil.
It is impossible to overestimate the importance of the appearance of a voice assistant for business. In fact, business life is a mass of routine activities that managers, supervisors, and ordinary employees spend most of their working hours on. During the day, you need to make hundreds of calls to suppliers, partners, and customers, fill out reports, product cards, clarify many details, accept applications, send out proposals, and coordinate various issues. But in order for the company to develop, it is necessary to monitor the market, develop new projects, and introduce new products. And that’s exactly what we don’t have much time for.
The appearance of a virtual secretary has helped entrepreneurs significantly relieve themselves and their team. Neural networks took over correspondence, meeting minutes, filling out cards, and monitoring calls. In addition, AI can analyze data, which simplifies market research and communication with customers to find out their preferences. At the same time, they can work 24/7, do not need a salary, time off, do not go on vacation or sick leave. Digitalization has brought business to a fundamentally new level, significantly increasing labor productivity, communication, and overall efficiency of the company.
Types of virtual assistants
- Simple chatbots in the form of smartphone apps or embedded, for example, in speakers. They are designed for voice communication with a gadget that can tell you what time it is, find information online, control a smart home, and send messages.
- Digital assistants are higher–level assistants. They can not only answer simple questions, but also plan work, complete tasks, discuss topics, analyze data, produce results, and compile meeting minutes.
- Special assistants designed for narrow use, such as medical assistants, can participate in discussing the diagnosis and choosing a treatment regimen. provide information about medicines. Such assistants have appeared in other fields, such as tourism, the banking sector, and sports.
What a virtual assistant can do
The main difference between innovation is the ability to communicate. The level of communication depends on the program. Simple systems conduct dialogues based on prerecorded phrases. The more complex ones understand speech, have a large vocabulary, know synonyms, can ask leading questions, discuss questions, and answer without delay. There are already such assistants, when communicating with whom the interlocutor may not even understand that he is talking to a neural network.
In addition to conversations, a robotic assistant can perform complex tasks. For example, you can record calls and make reports, analyze data, and record changes. Thanks to a wide range of skills, smart assistants are used:
- in online trading, to register customers, notify about promotions, place orders, and stimulate customers;
- in medical clinics, beauty salons, and other service points to record clients and reschedule appointments if necessary;
- in the delivery services to notify the customer, as well as record the fact of order delivery;
- in recruiting companies, to evaluate candidates during an interview;
- telecom operators, banks, insurance companies to notify customers about new types of services, discounts, installments, tariffs, as well as to notify them about the repayment time of the next loan payment;
- in education, to help with homework, learning foreign languages, and preparing for tests in various subjects;
- in the retail sector, to survey customers in order to study demand;
- to manage the company’s work processes, for example, the schedule.
And a smart assistant can also:
- entertain by playing music, podcasts, audiobooks, watching movies and TV series, reading news and articles, playing games;
- manage your smart home by adjusting the temperature, humidity, and turning on and off electrical appliances at the right time;
- Keep healthy by counting calories, speed, and distance while jogging, and selecting health articles.;
- ensure safety by reporting emergencies, manage home security systems, and call for help in case of danger.
Advantages of implementing digital assistants
- Performing a number of tasks by voice allows you to focus on more complex issues without being distracted by searching for information on the Web or typing commands on the keyboard.
- Quick information search. AI will implement it much faster than humans.
- Increase in labor productivity. Artificial intelligence is already replacing humans in performing dozens of types of routine tasks, while doing everything faster and better, without making mistakes.
- Reducing the company’s cost of maintaining a call center: a neural network can simultaneously serve several lines and do it around the clock.
- Improving the quality of service, as it responds quickly to requests, does not miss calls, and promptly provides assistance.
- Personalization and adaptation. An AI-based virtual assistant can study the client’s preferences, offer him an individual solution to the issue, and make recommendations. By the way, he can make such decisions in everyday life, remembering the preferences of the owner and making timely suggestions or giving advice.
How to create a virtual assistant for business

There are two ways: to order software from developers specifically for your company or to use a ready-made platform. The development of an individual project will take about three weeks, and the cost of the product will be around 150 thousand rubles.
Using a ready-made solution is cheaper and easier, you need to:
- register on the provider’s website;
- get access to the cloud;
- set up templates in your merchant profile;
- download the phone database;
- connect telephony;
- integrate the platform with your information resources, such as CRM.
To create a virtual online assistant, special programming skills are not needed: the designer is simple and straightforward. When using a ready-made solution, the user does not have to create special jobs or buy an expensive licensed program. He will simply pay for the time spent on SMS and conversations, just like he pays for mobile communication.
Technologies that ensure the work of online assistants
Two technologies are used to develop virtual assistants: speech recognition algorithms and artificial intelligence.
The speech processing algorithm allows the system to:
- recognize vocabulary, intonation, and accent;
- understand coherent speech;
- build a dialogue;
- execute commands;
- ask clarifying questions.
The goal of artificial intelligence is to study user preferences, speech patterns, and behavior. At the same time, at first the neural network has only basic ideas about how to communicate. But in the process of communicating with the user, she gets to know the owner more and learns to communicate with this particular person, adapts to his behavior, habits, recognizes the mood, etc. Advanced intelligent assistants are able to perform a huge range of tasks, including conversations on abstract topics.
The Future of Virtual Assistants
The general trend is that AI-based voice assistants will continue to improve, become even smarter, make complex conclusions based on available information, and make decisions.
In the near future, neural networks will learn to analyze the context and draw conclusions based on the information received earlier. This will make the assistant’s behavior more human, as he will more accurately understand human needs and preferences.
The second direction is the expansion of functionality and access to innovation. So far, neural networks are being used more for voice search and the Internet, entertainment, reminders, and managing simple processes at home and in production. But the next generation will already learn how to analyze and give personalized advice on many issues.
Despite the fact that online secretaries are already used in many fields, the possibilities for expanding their influence are still quite large. First of all, the standard push-button interfaces will be completely replaced with voice interfaces. In hospitals, hotels, train stations, and on the streets, any information can be obtained by speaking to such an assistant. The launch of mass production of vehicles controlled by artificial intelligence is on the way. This will take everyday life to a new digital level, make it easier to complete even more tasks, increase security, and make life more comfortable.
Online Secretary from FollowUp

AI-Secretary is a smart application for organizing, conducting and analyzing meetings, as well as meetings. The model is suitable for both small and large companies, making their meetings more organized and productive.
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Conclusion
Virtual assistants are not just a fashion trend, but an important tool for improving efficiency in the economy and social sphere. They give a powerful impetus to business development, make everyday life more comfortable, and free up time for personal communication, recreation, and creativity. Intelligent assistants have reached the peak of popularity today and this trend promises to continue for many years to come.