Voiceitt and Webex by Cisco Make Video Meetings More Accessible for People with Disabilities

Partnership delivers new AI captioning and transcription for people with non-standard speech in Webex Meetings

Voiceitt, a leading speech recognition technology for non-standard speech, announced that people with speech impairments will be able to speak and be understood during virtual meetings through innovative captioning and transcription leveraging AI on Webex, a leading collaboration platform powering hybrid work. The integration will be available on the Webex App Hub to be leveraged in Webex Meetings.

“Cisco’s commitment to inclusive collaboration is aligned with Voiceitt’s mission to make voice AI accessible to people with non-standard speech,” says Sara Smolley, Voiceitt co-founder and Vice President, Strategic Partnerships. “The integration with Webex is game-changing because it creates more independence for users with disabilities, while increasing the potential for more collaborative, inclusive work environments. True collaboration means everyone at the table has a voice.”

“This partnership epitomizes how Cisco works to power inclusivity through innovations that fuel the human potential,” says Amit Barave, Vice President, Product Management, Webex by Cisco. “We know accessibility can be a huge barrier to adoption of technology and services, but through purpose-built AI like Voiceitt and partnerships with Webex to drive more inclusive collaboration, hybrid work can empower greater communities.”

“We know accessibility can be a huge barrier to adoption of technology and services, but through purpose-built AI like Voiceitt and partnerships with Webex to drive more inclusive collaboration, hybrid work can empower greater communities.”

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Voiceitt’s web-based application employs the company’s proprietary speech technology to allow non-standard speakers to communicate accurately and flexibly. This communication includes face-to-face conversations, the dictation of emails and text messages, and meeting transcription. The speech technology is adaptive; it learns the patterns of the individual user’s speech from enrollment data. Voiceitt’s underlying machine learning algorithms are informed by and evolved from its proprietary large and growing database of non-standard speech recordings.

Voiceitt also offers an API that enables seamless integration of its tech with any voice interface, making these products accessible to users with disabilities, degenerative disease or brain injuries, developmental disorders, aging-related speech changes, and even challenging dialects. Michael Cash, a Voiceitt employee with cerebral palsy, is a beta tester of the Webex integration. He comments, “Video call integrations allow me to communicate efficiently and effectively while using my own unique voice to help fulfill my ambitions. A fully accessible Webex allows colleagues and partners to understand me without having to ask me to repeat myself, achieving a higher level of effective communication and understanding.”

Voiceitt is available in the Webex Hub to be integrated into Webex Meetings today. Later this year, Voiceitt will also be embedded into the Webex platform to enhance its closed captioning capability for transcription accuracy for all Webex users with non-standard speech patterns. For those with non-standard speech interested in Voiceitt today, a no-cost beta program is available.

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