SpeechWorks Receives Highest Marks in Independent Testing of Text-to-Speech Software

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 17, 2003--

SpeechWorks Earns the Highest Score Among All Vendors in Both Network and Embedded Text-to-Speech Categories

“Our NEWSLINE system provides up-to-the minute news from nearly 100 local and national newspapers to our 50,000 members nationwide”

SpeechWorks International, Inc. (Nasdaq: SPWX), a global leader in speech technologies and services, today announced that its text-to-speech (TTS) products received the highest scores for accurately presenting text in an audio format as reported in an independent evaluation of TTS engines conducted by Voice Information Associates. The report evaluated U.S. English TTS engines in two categories - "Server-Based TTS" and "Embedded TTS."

TTS software is used to present any type of text-based information in an audio format such as account data, directory assistance information, store locations, weather, stock quotes, itinerary confirmation, navigational directions and billing address. It is evaluated by how natural the voice sounds and on its ability to understand the context in which words appear in a sentence or how it "accurately presents text." SpeechWorks TTS products share powerful and unique front-end processing to accurately present text. For example, understanding when the abbreviation "Dr." should be read as the word "doctor" verses the word "drive."

Voice Information Associates (VIA) evaluated the ability of TTS software to correctly interpret text across several domains including abbreviations, addresses and numbers. In six of the seven domains tested, SpeechWorks accuracy score was higher than all participants and well above the industry average. In the Server-based category, SpeechWorks' Speechify(TM) TTS software scored 16% above the industry average and more than 11% above the next highest competitor in overall accuracy in text presentation. In the Embedded category, Speechify Solo(TM) and ETI-Eloquence(TM) software scored 25% above the industry average and 19% above the next highest in overall accuracy.

"TTS products like Speechify are strategic technologies that can make vital, text-based business information accessible to an expanding mobile customer base worldwide," said Steve Chambers, chief marketing officer at SpeechWorks. "TTS also decreases costs by reducing the need for pre-recorded audio. We applaud Voice Information Associates for offering the industry's first independent study of TTS text handling. These results demonstrate SpeechWorks' commitment to and investment in TTS performance for the benefit of SpeechWorks global network of customers and partners."

Real-World Solutions Rely On SpeechWorks TTS

SpeechWorks TTS products are used by customers and partners around the world including AOL Time Warner, Avaya, Bell Canada, The Boeing Company, Centrelink, Convergys, CIBC, Deutsche Telekom, Edify, Ford Motor Company, Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories, Intervoice, Microsoft, National Federation of the Blind, National Weather Service, Nortel Networks, RadioShack, Vodafone, VoiceGenie, and Yahoo.

"First Tennessee has experienced a lot of growth in the past few years. We use Speechify to read out the more than 15,000 names in our auto attendant directory. With Speechify, new names can be immediately added to the directory in place of professionally recorded prompts, saving us time and money," said Renelda Riffe, vice president of information services at First Tennessee Bank. "The Speechify software has done a great job of pronouncing names from multiple nationalities in a natural sounding voice and the total speech solution has helped us increase efficiencies and improve First Tennessee's customer service."

"NOAA Weather Radio can mean the difference between life and death during a hurricane, tornado or flash flood," said John Jones, deputy director of NOAA's National Weather Service. "We needed text-to-speech software that sounds like a natural human voice and pronounces words accurately, which are critical when issuing severe weather warnings and other hazard information to listeners across the nation." Speechify software was chosen by the National Weather Service following a rigorous evaluation of text-to-speech engines and public input.

"We selected Speechify Solo for our Audio Access automated banking machines because of its natural sound and its ability to handle numbers and names," said Christina Kramer, senior vice-president, service effectiveness, ABM channel and card management services, CIBC. "Its performance and voice quality have been well received by our customers with visual impairments who now are able to complete their banking transactions by listening to spoken instructions in English or French."

"Our NEWSLINE system provides up-to-the minute news from nearly 100 local and national newspapers to our 50,000 members nationwide," said Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind. "In just one year, NEWSLINE has delivered in excess of 16 million minutes of news using SpeechWorks' ETI-Eloquence software. Its ability to correctly read the news of the day is a significant factor in the success of NEWSLINE."

Testing Methodology and Domains

VIA examined a total of 19 TTS engines in two categories - "Server-Based TTS" and "Embedded TTS." All of the TTS vendors evaluated were aware of the testing and confirmed that the latest versions of their products for U.S. English were being tested. The testing methodology consisted of sending identical text to each TTS engine and listening for the response. Responses were graded based on how a reasonably intelligent person would speak the text. In total, more than 1,000 items were tested in seven domains, which include the following:

-- Abbreviations: Abbreviations are commonly used in English text to denote titles, names, dates and measurements (NBA, Capt., Robt., Mon. oz.).

-- Acronyms: Unlike abbreviated words, acronyms typically are not read aloud in the non-abbreviated form. For example, NASA would be read as "nah-sah" rather than N-A-S-A or National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

-- Addresses: When reading an address, a reader typically pauses between name, address, city, state and zip code fields. The test reports SpeechWorks results without using the address tag. With the tag, SpeechWorks shows a 17.2% improvement.

-- Foreign Words: Foreign words are frequently used in the English language such as "ad hoc," "quid pro quo" and "summa cum laude."

-- Homographs: Homographs are words that are pronounced differently depending on their use. The correct pronunciation is only possible through syntactic information. For example, "Did they record the record sales?"

-- Names: A TTS engine's ability to properly pronounce individual names is important for applications that require personalization. In this test, SpeechWorks' TTS engines handled 98.3% of names accurately, compared with the group average of 75.9%.

-- Numbers: Numbers commonly occur in applications where the TTS engine must read back or confirm dates, currency, telephone numbers, addresses, times, social security numbers, account codes, dimensions, weight, volumes, speed and ranges.

"TTS accuracy is an essential element in determining the suitability of a TTS product for a particular application. If the TTS product does not pronounce words accurately, the resulting application is unlikely to achieve its desired results," said Walt Tetschner, president of Voice Information Associates and primary author of the report. "TTS accuracy can be readily measured and the VIA TTS Accuracy Report does this in an objective and unbiased fashion."

Additional information on the TTS Accuracy Report is available at www.asrnews.com. For additional information on SpeechWorks industry-leading TTS products, visit http://www.speechworks.com/products/tts/index.cfm.

About SpeechWorks

Organizations around the world trust SpeechWorks to manage their customer conversations. As a leading provider of speech technologies and services, SpeechWorks helps companies create and implement unique Speech Strategies that ensure maximum financial return and the highest levels of caller satisfaction. The Company provides speech recognition, text-to-speech (TTS) and speaker verification for network and embedded environments, including new multimodal devices with both an audio interface and visual display. SpeechWorks' customers include carriers, corporations and government organizations such as Amtrak, Citibank Europe, IRS, Microsoft and United Airlines. For more information, please call 617.428.4444 or visit www.speechworks.com.

Speechify, Speechify Solo and ETI-Eloquence are trademarks of SpeechWorks International, Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.