How Artificial Intelligence(AI) will play an important role as a smart thinking keyboard in the year 2017

Keyboards + AI combination offers limitless possibilities. It is only recently that AI’s application in the keyboard space is bringing in a massive transformation.

Be it your latest personal assistant app that works with voice commands or the video game you are hooked on to or your latest fitness app, there’s a commonality running through all these systems.  All these high-end, often even multi-tasking, systems have some form of artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning in their e ‘genes’. While all these AI powered systems and gadgets are clamoring for the top spot, there is one ubiquitous tool – which may yet have escaped popular imagination – but which is now quietly unleashing a revolution – The mobile keyboard!

The humble keyboard has been at our fingertips forever. From older desktops to mobile devices now, the keyboard has stayed with us as a trusted companion. From being merely physical features, keyboards on smart devices morphed into semi-intelligent features which gave us options like dictionary, language prediction, next word prediction, auto correction, emojis, etc. All these have been made possible only through  the initial use of AI on the keyboard. But keyboards + AI combination offers limitless possibilities. It is only recently that AI’s application in the keyboard space is bringing in a massive transformation.

Modern keyboards will understand context
The keyboard represents a platform where (via chats and searches) we express all our emotions, where we live our dreams, escape into and indulge in our desires. It is the single most allied route capable of leading us to our fantasies and goals that we seek to chase. This tool manifests a fantastic scope for bringing us immediacy towards fulfillment of our dreams.

Modern keyboards utilizing powers of AI, now have the capability of deciphering human expressions and context through real time text inputs.

And how will it help? The answer lies in the million things we do using the keyboard. Through context, the keyboard will transform into a helping hand, bringing users closer to their desired recommendations. Let’s say you are in the middle of a discussion brewing in your WhatsApp group chat – about a friend’s upcoming birthday, attending the college party, going to a wedding, or checking out a rock show. This keyboard can gauge the direction in which your conversations are headed to by deciphering deeper meanings within the intents.

It will intelligently sense your imminent needs – in the above case-planning for what to gift, which restaurant to go, book a cab, etc, thus bringing you closer to contextual recommendations. Xploree will enable you to plan all this without having to put in any effort to search or switch apps.

Getting to recommendations directly from  the keyboard
Intent needs to be captured at the location where it is expressed most. According to a recent study smartphone users spend as much as 5 hours on their phones. A major chunk of this time is spent in text input – either for chatting or for browsing.

InfactChat apps figure among the top most downloaded items by Indian mobile consumers who are always looking to make the most out of conversations. And browsing, ofcourse, continues to be one of the necessary features on all smartphones.

Hence the writing on the wall is clear – be it browser search, need to seek advice, review products, make a plan or to discuss anything under the sun, smartphone users across the world resort to the one popular and reliable mode for text input   – the mobile keyboard. Keyboard is where most of the input happens – keyboard is where raw intent can be captured.

This dimension also covers a stage much before any purchase decision is made by consumers. In most cases, the process of discovery and intrigue for any given product or service takes shape either at a conversational level or at the browser, and that is precisely where the futuristic keyboard makes a difference. Smart, thinking keyboards will not only act as a source of intent capture, they would also bring immediacy of resultsjust when the user needs it the most!. This sums up the scope AI can bundle in keyboards!

Can the keyboard do more than typing – its usual business?
The use of AI also holds tremendous promise in terms of improving user experience on the mobile. A study by EY shows that smaller screens on personal devices will encourage more omni-channel consumption of content, and by 2020, smartphones will lead the race among all instruments and devices – includes newspapers, magazines, TV, tablets, desktops, etc.

This clearly signals a massive surge in the app numbers which can adversely impact user experience as it forces them to exit and open new apps constantly. App world is already cluttered and not all mobile users are enthusiastic about new downloads and installs of apps.

Mobile keyboard alone is the answer, since it has the potential to cut across the need for multiple apps and offer all solutions matched to human intent in the current window in real time.

In a sense the keyboard is capable of getting us closer to our dreams by learning deeper intents with the application of AI. While making an attempt to make you aware of the immense possibility research in this niche one thing is certain – tomorrow’s keyboards will be the next field for big battles yet to come.

Authored by Deepti Mani Saxena Director, Sales & Marketing, KeyPoint Technologies

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