Voice recognition is an analytics program that identifies and authenticates a specific person by the sound of their voice. This is accomplished by disregarding language and focusing on unique biological factors that produce vocalization. As our voice is our most convenient biometric characteristic, speaker verification is increasingly utilized to determine identity.

Speech recognition is different from voice recognition as its focus is on words. It is a user interface technology that strips away accent and personal idiosyncrasies to detect the words that are spoken by cross-referencing with a database of an individual’s pre-recorded words. Smartphone users may already be aware of speech recognition’s ability to control technology vocally, and that it improves with use. It is used to receive or interpret dictation, to follow spoken commands or to generate text and medical transcription. Speech recognition also allows the opportunity to speak with robots and is an especially useful communication tool for the hearing impaired.

Just as every individual has a unique fingerprint, we each make different “voiceprints” as a product of the unique combination of our physiology, personality and behavior patterns. Essential factors are the size and shape of the mouth, combined with pitch, speaking rate, inflection and accent. Voiceprints can be measured passively as a user speaks naturally in conversation, or actively, when a person is required to say a passphrase. This recognition may be broken into two categories that authenticate the identity of a person: “voice verification” and “voice identification”. The former determines a match by cross-referencing speech patterns against a single pre-recorded sample, while the latter compares against multiple samples.

Also known as speaker recognition, voice recognition offers contactless security, client identification, fraud prevention and identity authentication. When combined with speech recognition, the two combine for simultaneous authentication and a hands-free interface.

Thanks to the advancements in artificial intelligence and machine learning, voice biometrics and recognition have been increasing in accuracy over the years. Today, voice recognition software can distinguish between different people’s voices with 90-95% accuracy, as well as transcribe spoken words into text. Similarly, voice biometrics have also become highly reliable, offering secure authentication solutions for various applications. While no technology is flawless, the continuous refinement and enhancement of voice recognition and biometric systems mean that they are now an integral part of many security systems.