Smart speakers powered by voice agents seen ushering in era of AI

Major tech firms have been keen to sell speakers equipped with voice-based artificial intelligence agents recently. The debuts of smart speakers are seen as the prelude to an AI era, ushering in a new technological age in which virtual assistants are expected to become as ubiquitous as the smartphone, allowing people to connect to the internet by voice with greater ease. Whether these speakers will really take off and whether the technology will be popular in Japan remain to be seen. The following are answers to these questions as well as why AI speakers are creating a buzz and what will be the role of Japanese firms in this field. What makes AI speakers special?