61% of Consumers Rate Speech Applications as "Highly Satisfying," Ease-of-use, Convenience, and Accessibility Cited as Key Benefits

MENLO PARK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 25, 2003-- Nuance (Nasdaq:NUAN), the speech experts, today unveiled the results of a groundbreaking survey focused on consumer use and satisfaction with speech solutions. Commissioned by Nuance, and conducted by Harris Interactive(R) (Nasdaq:HPOL), a worldwide market research and consulting firm, best known for The Harris Poll(R), the survey confirms that speech systems are playing an important role in the everyday lives of consumers. In fact, 41 percent of U.S. consumers reported using a speech system such as a voice-enabled bill pay or flight information line within the past three months. Among this group, 66 percent said they encounter speech systems on a regular basis. Additionally, 61 percent rated their most recent speech encounter as "highly satisfying," with more than 70 percent describing speech as "easy to use and understand, convenient and accessible."

"This Harris Interactive study shows how important speech has become to consumers as a way of accessing information, and to companies looking to improve customer service," said Chuck Berger, president and CEO of Nuance. "One of the most interesting aspects of the study is how people viewed the companies that employ speech systems. 'Progressive,' 'innovative,' 'creative,' and 'reliable' were just a few of the overwhelmingly positive words chosen to describe the enterprises and telecommunications service providers that use speech recognition."

The survey also revealed that nine out of 10 consumers view speech recognition as a preferable automation solution to touch-tone, with 93 percent saying they merely "tolerate" or even "hate" touch-tone systems. It's no surprise, then, that more and more corporations are turning to voice-driven self-service solutions to manage their enormous volumes of customer interactions without compromising customer satisfaction. From the most frequently engaged telecommunications and financial services speech systems, to applications deployed by utilities, healthcare, retail and travel industries, speech self-service solutions have become relatively commonplace.

"Since this survey drew responses from among the total population, and not merely from among users of specific speech systems, it presents a broad and more objective picture of consumers' experiences with voice-driven systems," said Gordon Black, chairman and CEO of Harris Interactive.

Methodology

The survey was conducted online within the U.S. in March 2003 among a nationwide cross section of 326 adults ages 18 and over who had completed a transaction using a words/phrases speech recognition program within the past three months. Figures for age, sex, race, income, education and region were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. In theory, with probability samples of this size, one could say with 95 percent certainty that the results have a statistical precision of plus or minus five percentage points of what they would be if the entire adult population had been polled with complete accuracy. This online survey is not a probability sample.

About Harris Interactive

Harris Interactive (www.harrisinteractive.com) is a worldwide market research and consulting firm best known for The Harris Poll(R), and for pioneering the Internet method to conduct scientifically accurate market research. Headquartered in Rochester, N.Y., U.S.A., Harris Interactive combines proprietary methodologies and technology with expertise in predictive, custom and strategic research. The Company conducts international research through wholly owned subsidiaries -- London-based HI Europe (www.hieurope.com) and Tokyo-based Harris Interactive Japan -- as well as through the Harris Interactive Global Network of local market- and opinion-research firms, and various U.S. offices.

About Nuance

Nuance is the speech expert. Nuance's speech software solutions enable automated access to everything from account balances to flight information, email reading to voice activated dialing -- accessed using nothing more than the power of voice and an ordinary phone. In markets around the world, leading enterprises and telecommunications carriers -- including British Airways, Nomura Securities, OnStar, Sprint PCS, United Parcel Service, Vodafone, and many more -- work with Nuance to reduce costs, increase customer satisfaction and retention, create new sources of revenue and improve security. Nuance is headquartered in Menlo Park, Calif., and has offices around the world. For more information, visit http://www.nuance.com or call 888/NUANCE-8.

Nuance is a trademark of Nuance Communications, Inc. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

CONTACT:
Nuance
Gwen Murphy, 650/847-7131
gmurphy@nuance.com
or
Eastwick Communications for Nuance
Becky Quinlan, 650/480-4032
bquinlan@eastwick.com
or
Harris Interactive
Nancy Wong, 585/214-7316
nwong@harrisinteractive.com

SOURCE: Nuance