An accessible explanation of the technologies that enable such popular voice-interactive applications as Alexa, Siri, and Google Assistant. Have you talked to a machine lately? Asked Alexa to play a song, asked Siri to call a friend, asked Google Assistant to make a shopping list? This volume in the MIT Press Essential Knowledge series offers a nontechnical and accessible explanation of the technologies that enable these popular devices. Roberto Pieraccini, drawing on more than thirty years of experience at companies including Bell Labs, IBM, and Google, describes the developments in such fields as artificial intelligence, machine learning, speech recognition, and natural language understanding that allow us to outsource tasks to our ubiquitous virtual assistants. Pieraccini describes the software components that enable spoken communication between humans and computers, and explains why it's so difficult to build machines that understand humans. He explains speech recognition technology; problems in extracting meaning from utterances in order to execute a request; language and speech generation; the dialog manager module; and interactions with social assistants and robots. Finally, he considers the next big challenge in the development of virtual assistants: building in more intelligence--enabling them to do more than communicate in natural language and endowing them with the capacity to know us better, predict our needs more accurately, and perform complex tasks with ease.
"Take control of your entrepreneurial life and learn how to effectively outsource your non-essential tasks. You'll free up hours every day to focus on what's really important. In the end virtual assistants can help you lead a happier, healthier, and more productive and stress-free life."--Page 4 of cover
Are you where you want to be professionally? Whether you want to advance faster at your present company, change jobs, or make the jump to a new field entirely, Reinventing You, now in paperback with a new preface, provides a step-by-step guide to help you assess your unique strengths, develop a compelling personal brand, and ensure that others recognize the powerful contribution you can make. Branding expert Dorie Clark mixes personal stories with engaging interviews and examples from Mark Zuckerberg, Al Gore, Tim Ferriss, Seth Godin, and others to show you how to think big about your professional goals, take control of your career, and finally live the life you want.
Follow a step-by-step, hands-on approach to building production-ready enterprise cognitive virtual assistants using Google Dialogflow. This book provides an overview of the various cognitive technology choices available and takes a deep dive into cognitive virtual agents for handling complex real-life use cases in various industries such as travel and weather. You’ll delve deeper into the advanced features of cognitive virtual assistants implementing features such as input/output context, follow-up intents, actions and parameters, and handling complex multiple intents. You’ll learn how to integrate with third-party messaging platforms by integrating your cognitive bot with Facebook messenger. You’ll also integrate with third-party APIs to enrich your cognitive bots using webhooks. Cognitive Virtual Assistants Using Google Dialogflow takes the complexity out of the cognitive platform and provides rich guidance which you can use when developing your own cognitive bots. The book covers Google Dialogflow in-depth and starts with the basics, serving as a hands-on guide for developers who are starting out on their journey with Google Dialogflow. All the code presented in the book will be available in the form of scripts and configuration files, which allows you to try out the examples and extend them in interesting ways. What You Will Learn Develop cognitive bots with Google Dialogflow technologyUse advanced features to handle complex conversation scenariosEnrich the bot’s conversations by understanding the sentiment of the userSee best practices for developing cognitive botsEnhance a cognitive bot by integrating with third-party services Who This Book Is For AI and ML developers.
The guide to shortening your execution cycle down from one year to twelve weeks Most organizations and individuals work in the context of annual goals and plans; a twelve-month execution cycle. Instead, The 12 Week Year avoids the pitfalls and low productivity of annualized thinking. This book redefines your "year" to be 12 weeks long. In 12 weeks, there just isn't enough time to get complacent, and urgency increases and intensifies. The 12 Week Year creates focus and clarity on what matters most and a sense of urgency to do it now. In the end more of the important stuff gets done and the impact on results is profound. Explains how to leverage the power of a 12 week year to drive improved results in any area of your life Offers a how-to book for both individuals and organizations seeking to improve their execution effectiveness Authors are leading experts on execution and implementation Turn your organization's idea of a year on its head, and speed your journey to success.
Why are you doing EVERYTHING yourself? What would you do if you had even one more hour a day devoted solely to growing your business and making more money? Virtual assistants will make your life easier by taking the stress out of your business life. As a small business owner, you need more time so you can make more money and stay competitive in an ever-changing world. If you're spending less than 70 percent of your time on work that doesn't generate revenue, isn't building relationships, or isn't creating new products, then you're not spending enough time on your business. It means you're spending too much time in your business. This book will show you why Virtual Assistance (VA) is the answer. Hire the Right Virtual Assistant is the complete guide to: Know what a VA is and how they differ from Executive Assistants Understand the benefits and need of a VA - it's more than just outsourcing Hiring the right VA the first time in less time than you think Finally be able to use the VA right away to make the biggest impact in your business and free up your time If you had time right now to work on your business instead of in it, what could you do? Could you make a sale? Visit a client and earn more business? Make another 20 calls a day to land more clients? Work the pipeline? Network? Think about your proven method to gain more clients. Using that method, how many more clients could you have if you had more time? This is where you put a VA to work for you. They work in your business so you can work on your business. I promise that hiring a VA will be the best decision you make for your business. You will get back your time. Scroll up and pick up your copy today!"
Entrepreneurs often suffer from "superhero syndrome"—the misconception that to be successful, they must do everything themselves. Not only are they the boss, but also the salesperson, HR manager, copywriter, operations manager, online marketing guru, and so much more. It's no wonder why so many people give up the dream of starting a business—it's just too much for one person to handle. But outsourcing expert and "Virtual CEO," Chris Ducker knows how you can get the help you need with resources you can afford. Small business owners, consultants, and online entrepreneurs don't have to go it alone when they discover the power of building teams of virtual employees to help run, support, and grow their businesses. Virtual Freedom: How to Work with Virtual Staff to Buy More Time, Become More Productive, and Build Your Dream Business is the step-by-step guide every entrepreneur needs to build his or her business with the asset of working with virtual employees. Focusing on business growth, Ducker explains every detail you need to grasp, from figuring out which jobs you should outsource to finding, hiring, training, motivating, and managing virtual assistants. With additional tactics and online resources, Virtual Freedom is the ultimate resource of the knowledge and tools necessary for building your dream business with the help of virtual staff.
An intelligent virtual assistant (IVA) or intelligent personal assistant (IPA) is a software agent that can perform tasks or services for an individual based on commands or questions. Improving the quality of artificial intelligence (AI) learning algorithms increases the application of IVAs in different areas. The capabilities and usage of IVAs are expanding rapidly. IVAs, such as Siri, Alexa, and chatbots, help individuals and companies to make better decisions. They learn from collected historical data, and the quality of their recommendations depends on the size of the database they are using. Modern technology has provided a huge capacity for data collection and storage. This means that the new generation of IVAs can help people much better than the previous one. This book examines the applications of IVAs in different areas and presents a clear vision of how this new technology can be used in current and future activities. Chapters cover such topics as the scientific development of VA technology, generating voices for IVAs, the ethics of using IVAs, and using IVAs in banking and finance.
Do you dream of running your own successful virtual assistant business? Do you want a better work-life balance? Do you want to be your own boss? Do you want to be in control of your health, time, and be there for loved ones? If you’re looking for a book that can give you the tools and the courage you need to change your life… you’ve found it! How to be a Virtual Assistant is the essential handbook for anyone who wants to start and run their own successful business as a VA. This book will guide you through everything you need to be a successful virtual assistant.With an abundance of insider tips on what to do - and more importantly, what not to do - she has included the kind of detail that can make or break a new business, including: •How to find clients •Building your reputation •What to charge •How to network •Working with associates •What to do when you lose a client •How to find your niche Catherine Gladwyn, founder of Delegate VA – Virtual Assistant, went from PA to thriving business owner - and you can follow in her footsteps. Gain insights into every step of the process and practical advice on subjects from finding your niche to finding clients, what services to offer and what to charge, to how to prepare for losing clients and avoid running out of money. ‘Written with honesty, directness and a large pinch of Catherine’s trademark humour, How to be a Virtual Assistant will not only give you vital techniques for building your business but the self-belief you need to step out of your comfort zone and do it! ’Catherine is passionate about cheerleading people who are unappreciated and unsatisfied in their jobs to create a happier, healthier lifestyle for themselves. As she says: “I’ve looked high and low for the definition of work where it says ‘unbearable, depressing, thankless, soul-destroying’, but it doesn’t because it’s not supposed to be!” Voted Most Popular Book for VAs in the Virtual Assistant Voice Awards (2020 and 2019) Amazon bestseller in the Home Based Business category (2020, 2019 and 2018) Amazon bestseller in the Small Business & Entrepreneurship category (2020 and 2019) Listed one of ten best business books in The Independent (2018) Finalist in Wiltshire Business Awards (2017) Nomination for Business Mum of the Year (2018)
Are you ready to change your life and your lifestyle by becoming a virtual assistant? You might have seen ads or heard of someone who was working as a VA and wondered if you could do the same. You can! I wrote this book to teach you all you need to know to start your own VA business. By sharing my own experiences and insights, you will save months or even years trying to figure everything out on your own!I first became a virtual assistant while working remotely for my employer. After only a few months of being a VA, my employer sent out new contracts for the year. I had to make a decision then for the upcoming year. Suddenly my lifelong philosophy of "I will never own my own business" didn't seem like such a bad idea. If I could do what I was doing for my employer, couldn't I do it for myself?With little thought, no business plan, no knowledge of how to run a business, and-crazy enough-no fear, I sent the contract back to my employer-unsigned.I told my employer I felt this was my opportunity, and I had to take it. It was now or never. He understood and was supportive. I finished out my contract and then I was officially on my own. There was one big problem. Where do I find my clients? The question virtual assistants ask the most, second only to "How do I get rid of this client?"Sadly, not all VAs make it through the first year and some are never able to do more than keep it as a side gig ultimately working two jobs. Throughout this book I will answer the most asked questions, including the questions you don't know you need to ask. I will take you from where you are now to owning a successful virtual assistant business in the least amount of time, spending the least amount of money, and get you to your first client quickly. You'll learn how to grow, scale, and reach elite VA status generating income through several different sources all without being chained to a desk.I never had a problem getting a job in my life. Somehow I thought gaining clients would be as simple. I would prove myself wrong. That one problem led to so many others questions that I couldn't answer. And I quickly realized no one could help me. All the mentors, coaches, and guides didn't understand where I was coming from. They had never been an administrative professional. They were not familiar with the mindset of an admin, so they didn't know how to transition my skills to the virtual assistance world.Through trial and error, I learned to weave business principles into the mindset and service-based world of virtual assistance. I figured out how to do what I do best, how to get paid what I'm worth, and how to enjoy the life of being a business owner. I ditched the traditional 9 to 5 job and made my own rules. Being a VA isn't simply about doing the work of an assistant; it is understanding the business side of business.Consider this book your roadmap. I wish someone had given me one! This roadmap will provide you a foundation on which to build your VA business. You will be able to take the principles and guides in this book and personalize them to your own business. While the process won't be linear, each step will reveal another opportunity.I'll share what others won't tell you. They can't. They don't know. I have the unique perspective of matching clients with VAs and consulting others, answering all their questions, listening to what they are looking for and what makes a good virtual assistant. Any VA can make the minimum. You'll learn how to get the premium clients, how to work with the best of the best. Ultimately, you'll be able to live out your wildest dreams.BUY THE BOOK NOW! I've even included a complimentary workbook to help you through the steps. Don't wait another moment. Let's get started now!
