A startup called Voicebox is betting that voice notes, rather than emails or hold-queue phone calls, will become the preferred way for customers to give feedback. Users scan a QR code or tap an NFC chip in a shop or venue, speak their thoughts aloud, and the message is automatically transcribed and analysed for sentiment before landing on a company's dashboard, with the option for staff to follow up by email. The Wired writer argues this shift matters because it lowers the friction of giving feedback, making people more willing to share both praise and complaints spontaneously rather than only when seeking a refund.

Voicebox, led by chief executive Karan Gupta, has already partnered with airport terminals to gather traveller feedback on things like bathroom cleanliness or gate directions, and its QR code was used at a Lena Dunham book event earlier this year, where attendees left emotional voice messages. The company has now launched a "directory" feature allowing feedback to be submitted about any business or place and, eventually, for users to browse what others have said, positioning it as a voice-based rival to written review platforms such as Google Maps.