What is voice biometrics, and why does your contact center need it?

What is voice biometrics for contact centers?

Voice biometrics uses the unique characteristics in an individual’s voice to authenticate their identity. It records and analyzes several vocal attributes, such as pitch, accent, speed of speech, cadence, and tone, and considers physiological factors like the shape and size of the speaker’s mouth and throat. Together, these create a distinctive voiceprint, which is as unique as a fingerprint.

No two people have exactly the same vocal characteristics, making voice authentication a reliable and secure identification method, ensuring the person accessing the service is who they claim to be.

In a contact center setting, voice biometrics enhances authentication protocols and bolsters security measures. Voice biometrics eliminates password fraud and other risk by using the customer’s voice as the password.

It also delivers a smooth and frictionless customer experience, with no need for special hardware like fingerprint identification or facial recognition. Customers can authenticate themselves using their voice, regardless of where or what device they are using.

How does voice recognition biometrics work?

Voice recognition biometrics capture a voice sample from an individual and convert it into a unique voiceprint using complex algorithms. This voiceprint is then stored and used for future verification. When someone tries to authenticate their identity, the system compares the live voice sample with the stored voiceprint. If the two match, the person is authenticated.

Voice recognition biometrics involves several steps:

1. Enrollment. The voice recognition system captures a voice sample from a known person. This sample can be obtained during a regular phone call or through a specific recording session that asks the person to speak certain phrases or sentences. This step aims to gather enough data to accurately represent the person’s unique vocal attributes.
2. Extraction. The system analyzes the captured voice sample to extract distinguishing characteristics. These include physiological factors such as the size and shape of the person’s vocal tract and behavioral aspects like accent, speech speed, and pronunciation.
3. Processing. These extracted features are then processed using complex algorithms to create a voiceprint—a digital representation of the person’s voice. This voiceprint serves as a template against which future voice samples will be compared.
4. Verification. The system captures a live voice sample when the person attempts to authenticate their identity. The features of this live sample are extracted and compared with the stored voiceprint. The system confirms the person’s identity if the two match closely enough.

In a contact center, for example, a customer calls to discuss a recent purchase or to raise a query. Instead of going through the usual process of answering security questions or providing a password, the customer simply starts explaining their issue. 

The voice recognition system analyzes their voice as they speak, comparing it with the stored voiceprint on file. If there’s a match, it verifies the customer’s identity.

Types of voice biometrics.

There are two main types of voice biometrics technology: active and passive. The difference between them lies in the way the two methods capture and analyze voice samples.

Active voice biometrics.

Active voice biometrics requires active participation from the user. The customer speaks a specific phrase or password, which the system then captures and analyzes. For example, a common phrase used in active voice biometrics might be “My voice is my password.”

Active voice biometrics is particularly useful in high-security situations where an additional layer of protection is necessary. The combination of the unique voiceprint and a specific phrase makes it hard for fraudsters to gain unauthorized access.

Passive voice biometrics.

Passive voice biometrics provides a less intrusive and more user-friendly approach to voice authentication. Instead of requiring a specific phrase, this method analyzes the user’s voice during regular conversation. It uses advanced algorithms to extract unique vocal characteristics and compare them with the stored voiceprint for verification.

This method provides a seamless and hassle-free experience for customers. It’s especially useful in scenarios where a smooth customer experience is crucial, such as in customer service centers or telecommunication companies.

Advantages of voice biometrics.

Voice biometrics technology in contact centers has shown significant potential in improving operational efficiency, customer satisfaction, and security measures. It can reduce handle time by 25 – 45 seconds. 

Traditional customer authentication methods often involve multiple security questions or password verifications. With biometrics, however, identity verification is much faster through general conversations. 

Using voice authentication in contact centers:

Improves customer experience.

Traditional authentication methods often involve answering security questions or remembering complex passwords, which can be time-consuming and frustrating for customers. Using biometrics eliminates this process. Customers use their voice to verify their identity, which makes the authentication process quick and effortless. 

Voice biometrics also allows customer service agents to focus more on resolving the customer’s issue rather than verifying their identity. This reduces call duration and increases customer satisfaction.

Prevents fraud incidents.

Identity theft and fraudulent account takeover attempts are significant concerns for many businesses, especially those dealing with sensitive customer information. Voice biometrics serves as a robust security measure to counter these threats.

The unique nature of everyone’s voice makes it extremely difficult for people to mimic or steal. Even if a fraudster obtains other personal details, they cannot replicate the customer’s unique voiceprint, preventing unauthorized access.