To coincide with the forthcoming local launch of Amazon’s cloud-based, AI-powered voice assistant Alexa, online employment market SEEK has announced a compatible voice-activated job search.
According to Amazon, three Alexa-enabled, voice-controlled speakers – the Echo, Echo Plus and Echo Dot – will ship from the company’s local website “beginning early February”, with the devices also available at JB Hi-Fi, Officeworks, Telstra and Myer from this time.
Some of Alexa’s advertised voice-activated functions include answering questions, playing music, providing news updates (including sports scores and weather forecasts), turning on and off lights in smart homes, reading eBooks, setting alarms and creating To-Do lists. Additionally, third-party developers can use Amazon’s Alexa Skills Kit, a collection of self-service APIs and tools, to create new ‘skills’ for the AI assistant.
Michael Ilczynski, Managing Director ANZ at SEEK, the employment marketplace is using the kit to launch a host of skills allowing its users across Australia to use voice search to job search as well as access unique insights to help inform career choices.
“Voice is without a doubt the next big technology trend,” he said. “Being one of the first brands in the country to develop Alexa skills gives SEEK an opportunity to experiment with what type of career content resonates with users through voice search technology.
“SEEK Company Reviews and SEEK Jobs skills, as well as weekly SEEK employment market updates, will now all be available with Alexa, creating an innovative and comprehensive job searching experience. Any SEEK customer with an Amazon Echo will now be able to hear the latest jobs, find out what it’s like to work at a company and hear the latest employment news.
“We are incredibly excited to be the first employment marketplace in Australia to be able to offer voice activated job search and career insights for our customers with Amazon Echo and Alexa. Australian’s are engaging with SEEK for more than just active job applying which is why we developed SEEK Company Reviews and SEEK employment market updates for Alexa. This is a continuation of the commitment we have to investing in technology solutions that will connect Australians to the most up to date employment market and job information, to enable them to make informed career decisions.”