

We’re currently talking to some of the major knowledge engines to understand the easiest standards-based way for them to use the data published on GOV.UK via an API. We think the most powerful way to help users of voice assistants is to make the canonical data that government publishes available in a format which knowledge engines can use to provide answers. Where search engines scan the web to find answers, knowledge engines use databases of known facts to work them out. Getting GOV.UK data into knowledge engines integrate (even more) concise answers into our guidance.improve our use of structured data to make our content more understandable to search engines.double down on open publishing, ensuring guidance isn’t hidden in services.For example, Amazon recommend a voice answer be speakable in just one breath. We already write content with all the clarity, natural language and brevity we can, but good spoken answers require even more. There are also wider implications for our content strategy that we will need more time to think through. HowTo schema for our new step-by-step journeys.NewsArticle schema for all news on GOV.UK.Article schema for all guidance on GOV.UK.By using the structured data standard we can give search engines extra context to help make sense of our pages. You can see it in action in this Google Assistant demo we made:īut we realised there was more we could do. This works because search engines crawl our content and use machine learning to extract speakable answers. Making GOV.UK more understandable to search enginesīecause we publish on the open web and prioritise good content design, GOV.UK guidance is already a source of speakable answers on some voice platforms. This analysis helped us realise we could increase the number of answers we provide in voice assistants simply by making it easier for search and knowledge engines to use GOV.UK as a data source. Here’s how it works for some of the most popular voice assistants: third-party applications – known as skills on Alexa and Cortana, every major voice platform now has an app store.knowledge engines – these use a combination of data and computation to provide answers to fact-based questions.search engines – these scan the web to provide relevant links and speakable snippets of content.We found there are three sources of information they use: We started by getting to grips with the different ways voice services provide users with answers. Our team had experience creating apps and skills for voice assistants, but we wanted to find out if it was possible to support all the major voice platforms without having to build apps for each one. So in keeping with government’s design principles GOV.UK’s approach to this needs to be:
#Viavoice uk how to#
The recent GDS Innovation Survey has shown many local authorities, agencies and government departments are already exploring how to they can use voice to deliver information and services. Tackling voice at scaleĪs government we need to approach voice services in a consistent way.

Their dramatically simpler interface has the potential to help lots of people who find computers and phones hard to use right now.įor GOV.UK, working on voice is an opportunity to meet the rising expectations of users and make government more accessible. But there's much excitement in the accessibility community about voice assistants.
#Viavoice uk software#
Voice interfaces are nothing new for many people with access needs, who might use software like Dragon Naturally Speaking. The leading voice platforms do not share data on user’s specific queries, but conversations we’ve had with teams at Amazon and Google made it clear that many users are asking questions where government is the best source.
#Viavoice uk android#
In 2016 Google reported 20% of searches on Android devices were voice searches. Smart speaker ownership is growing rapidly in the UK - 8% of adults now own one, up 3% in 2018 so far. So we decided to put together a small team to look at how to meet this emerging need on GOV.UK. The most popular way to use these assistants is to ask questions - and we know users often expect to find answers from government.

Over the past few years, more and more people have been adding voice assistants like Alexa, Siri and Google Assistant to their homes and using them on their smartphones.
