CALGARY – Rogers Cable and Yellow Pages Group are part of a pilot project with Calgary company Call Genie to test a voice-activated, business search feature available through the 411 directory assistance service offered by Rogers Home Phone.
In the test, Rogers’ wireline callers are given the option to find a business listing using the interactive Yellow Pages directory automated process. The majority of 411 callers use directory assistance to search for business listings. Most of those callers have a specific business name in mind, but may also be interested in other business listings within a particular geographic area.
Call Genie provides the technology platform using its enhanced voice directory service which enables a directory type search using only the caller’s voice, where knowing the name of the business is not a prerequisite.
The business search capability provided by the Call Genie’s EVD service makes it possible to do a localized search of the most popular business categories associated with the Yellow Pages directories, using only voice commands.
The pilot project will be available to Rogers 411 callers in Burlington and Oakville, Ont., and is known as the HelloYellow service.
With the service, callers have the option to search business categories based on local search criteria, browse the results and connect through to the selected merchant, using simple voice commands. Callers can search business listings by city, by neighborhood, by landmark and by major intersection. Businesses that have subscribed for an EVD listing through Yellow Pages are afforded priority placement as well as enhanced information such as directions, promotions, credentials and business description.
This pilot project is expected to continue through the first quarter of 2006.
