Home Shopping to Use Voice ID

In the first large-scale consumer use of speech verification technology, Home Shopping Network will use software to authenticate a customer’s identity over the telephone, the company will announce today.

The television shopping company has long kept profiles of repeat customers that include the person’s address and credit card number, expediting the ordering process. The new system, to be implemented in July, will be able to automatically verify customers’ identities over the telephone by matching their speech patterns.

The system, which uses speech software from Menlo Park, Calif.-based Nuance Communications and Santa Clara, Calif.-based Edify Corp., asks first-time users to enroll their voice by answering a few simple questions to provide a voice sample.

Next year, Home Shopping plans to allow customers to complete entire transactions using software, eliminating order takers.

The St. Petersburg, Fla.-based company says the automation will save money and improve order-taking efficiency, which has been particularly crucial during periods of high demand.