Lender latches on to voice technology

February 13, 2004

Countrywide adopts speech-activated software


Inman News

Countrywide Home Loans is taking its customer service to a new level with the adoption of voice automation products.

The lender signed a deal to implement voice automation provider Nuance's speech software. Nuance's software enables automated access to things like account balances, flight information, e-mail reading and voice activated dialing.

"For our customer-facing mortgage application, we evaluated a number of speech vendors and Nuance was best able to deliver on our needs—a complete, open VoiceXML-based voice automation solution," Countrywide CIO Richard Jones said.

The software is expected to provide customers with faster access to specific information.

Countrywide selected Nuance Voice Platform, a VoiceXML-based software platform specifically designed for speech systems, as well as Nuance's speech recognition software and Nuance Vocalizer text-to-speech engine.

"Voice automation helps companies realize a competitive advantage and achieve bottom-line business results," Nuance CEO Chuck Berger said.

Nuance Voice Platform offers a broad range of speech specific capabilities, including a real-time return-on-investment measurement and reporting tool. The platform monitors speech system performance in real-time.

Countrywide provides mortgage banking and diversified financial services in domestic and international markets.

Copyright: Inman News Features


Contact ALTA at 202-296-3671 or communications@alta.org.