Advancements in AI Voice Assistants: Sesame’s Maya

2025-03-23

The entire AI industry has brought unexpected opportunities for the average user, improving their daily life. One of the key applications of AI in various devices is voice commands. AI voice assistants have expanded user capabilities, making information search, task execution, and even remote home management more interactive. Once again, the market is witnessing innovation with the introduction of a new startup – Maya.

General AI Voice Assistants Tendencies and Market Overview

According to Statista, the usage of virtual assistants has been growing annually and is expected to continue rising. In 2019, the global usage of digital voice assistants reached 3.25 billion, and by 2024, projections indicate that this number will grow to 8.4 billion.

In essence, an AI assistant is software that utilizes artificial intelligence to understand and execute voice commands given by users. Initially, digital assistants performed tasks such as reading messages or emails aloud, searching for information, setting reminders, and planning. However, today, user interaction with AI voice assistants has significantly expanded.

Typically, major technology companies have developed their own AI assistants, most of which are well-known to the public. Below are the three main virtual assistants currently dominating the market:

Amazon’s Alexa

Alexa is a cloud-based voice service available through Amazon’s hands-free devices and smart speaker line, Amazon Echo. The assistant is voice-activated by the wake word Alexa, upon which it listens and executes user commands.

Apple’s Siri

Another voice-controlled assistant available on iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, macOS, and tvOS operating systems. Like Alexa, Siri operates on AI, and with the latest updates, its developers have been actively improving contextual understanding.

Google Assistant

Designed for Android devices, Google Assistant performs functions such as setting reminders, searching for information, playing music, and more.

Market Innovations Driving Changes in AI Voice Assistants

As AI technology continues to evolve, developers of various AI solutions strive to enhance their products, leading to the evolution of AI voice assistants. Modern AI assistants will offer even more capabilities to users due to advancements in speech recognition, natural language processing, and increased personalization.

One example of next-generation voice assistants is Sesame’s newly developed voice assistant, Maya. This is an initial prototype that is expected to improve over time, with plans already in place to expand the technology beyond English into more than 20 languages.

One of Maya’s primary and most significant advantages is its speech style. In an article by The Verge, a conversation with this AI voice assistant is highlighted, allowing us to identify several key aspects:

Human-like Interaction

At first glance, listening to a conversation between two individuals, it may be difficult to distinguish that one participant is just one of the AI voice assistants. Maya’s speech is so natural that it mimics human mannerisms, including natural pauses between spoken phrases, making interactions feel more dynamic and lifelike.

Maya’s Vocabulary and Communication

From the provided conversation excerpt, it is evident that this technology is innovative due to its rich vocabulary, lack of monotony, and varied sentence structures. What stands out is the diversity of emotions expressed and the assistant’s ability to react appropriately.

There is also room for more contextual information, and considering the potential of such technology, future interactions may become entirely personalized through user behaviour analysis.

Final Thoughts

Sesame’s introduction of the Maya assistant demonstrates that discussions about the potential of AI voice assistants are already being put into practice. This product presents an inspiring opportunity, fundamentally different from existing digital assistants due to its natural, contextually aware, and emotionally engaging communication style — offering an experience that feels like conversing with a real person.

If you are interested in this topic, we suggest you check our articles:

Sources: Sesame, Statista, TechTarget, The Verge