How Siri could help boost location-based services

[Commentary] Location-based apps have gotten a lot of attention but they still seem to have a tougher time cracking the mainstream. I’ve been thinking about how these services can accelerate their growth. One of the most intriguing possibilities is the emergence of more voice-enabled artificial intelligence assistants like Apple’s Siri.

A lot of apps could make use of Siri or similar technology as a shortcut for all kinds of actions, letting people speak naturally to accomplish tasks that might be harder to access using touch input. But I think location-based services specifically could benefit most from Siri and whatever equivalents Google or Microsoft put together on their mobile platforms. We’re already seeing some of that promise in action with voice-activated navigation services, and Siri can already pull up nearby restaurants using Yelp. But there’s a lot more that can be done.