Voicebox adds a directory for sending spoken feedback about places

In short: More companies are trying to collect customer feedback through short voice recordings, and Voicebox has launched a new directory to make that easier.

What's going on

Voice-based apps are becoming more common, especially tools that turn speech into text. This makes it easier for people to “say” something quickly instead of typing a long message.

Voicebox is a startup that uses this idea for customer feedback. A shopper can scan a QR code (a square barcode you point your camera at) or tap their phone on an NFC chip (a small wireless tag, like what contactless payments use). Then they record a short message about their experience.

The app turns the recording into written text and sends it to a company’s dashboard. It also adds “sentiment analysis,” which is a guess at whether the message sounds positive, negative, or neutral (like a mood meter for feedback). Voicebox has partnered with airport terminals so travelers can comment on things like bathroom cleanliness or how easy it was to find a gate.

Voicebox also says its tool is being used outside typical customer service settings. Wired reports that author Lena Dunham used a Voicebox QR code at a San Francisco event, and attendees left emotional voice messages about her book.

As part of a broader push, Voicebox recently launched a “directory” at vbx.to. The company says this could let people send feedback from anywhere and eventually see public voice feedback about specific businesses, similar to how Google Maps shows written reviews.

What to watch

If voice notes become a normal way to leave reviews, more feedback could happen in the moment, like speaking a quick comment while walking out of a store. It also raises new questions about privacy and comfort in public spaces, since not everyone wants to record complaints out loud near strangers.

Source: Wired