02/11/2018

We’re excited to announce that you can now say three words to enter any precise location into the what3words app. Now you can enter 3 word addresses in a faster, hands-free and more natural way, so saving, sharing and navigating to precise locations has never been easier.

Street addresses don’t work with voice

When it comes to using voice to command navigation apps and sat navs, there has been one main problem standing in the way: addresses weren’t designed for voice input.

Speaking a street address into a sat nav is frustrating when we’re so often misheard, misunderstood or destinations simply aren’t recognised.

Street names aren’t unique and when it comes to postal and Zip codes, mistakes are too easy to make. Take the 14 different Church Roads in London, for example. For a sat nav to direct you to the correct Church Road, the entire address, including the postcode, must be dictated and understood correctly. This is time consuming, especially when ‘N’s get mistaken for ‘M’s, ‘A’s for ‘8’s, and so on.

TRY VOICE IN THE THE APP NOW

Here’s how to start using voice search:

Click the search icon

Tap the mic

Say a 3 word address

Select the correct address

Watch our how-to video here:

Where simpler navigation starts

what3words is the first addressing system that’s optimised for voice. 3 word addresses are easier to say than lengthy addresses and postcodes, and easier for voice systems to recognise correctly.

To prevent mistakes, similar sounding 3 word addresses are located as far apart as possible. For example ///party.party.party is in Pennsylvania, USA, whereas ///parties.party.party marks a 3m x 3m location in Gimhae, South Korea. And if people mispronounce or misremember a 3 word addresses, what3words AutoSuggest technology helps to identify and correct the mistake.

3 word address voice input is now available in the free what3words app in English (US and UK), German and Spanish with more languages on the way.