Table of Contents
Executive Summary
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- Overview
- Market drivers and key players
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- Figure 1: Voice assistants used, September 2019
- The issues
- Lack of awareness – not necessarily access – limits participation
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- Figure 2: Reasons for not using a voice assistant, September 2019
- Users as well as non-users worried about potential breaches in privacy
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- Figure 3: Attitudes toward voice assistants – surveillance, by age, September 2019
- The opportunities
- Consumers enjoy using voice assistants and look for improvements
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- Figure 4: Attitudes toward voice assistants – fun to use, by age, September 2019
- No clear leader in the voice assistant space
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- Figure 5: Attitudes toward voice assistants, September 2019
- Smart speakers can lead to more household device integration
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- Figure 6: Voice controlled household devices, by voice assistant devices – smartphone and smart speaker, September 2019
- What it means
The Market – What You Need to Know
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- Siri the leading voice assistant in US market
- Smart home device adoption continues to grow
- Potential Apple HomePod 2 could improve Apple’s standing in smart speaker category
Market Factors
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- Smart home device adoption
- In-house venture capital funding helps spur innovation
Key Players – The “Big Four” Voice Assistants
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- Figure 7: Voice assistants used, September 2019
- Apple’s Siri
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- Figure 8: Apple watch informational email, June 2019
- Amazon’s Alexa
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- Figure 9: Amazon Show 5 informational email, July 2019
- Google Assistant
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- Figure 10: AT&T Google Pixel promotional email, October 2019
- Samsung Bixby
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What’s Working
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- Siri makes gains through smartphone penetration
- Amazon Alexa Echo product sales increases usage
What’s Struggling
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- Samsung’s Bixby struggles to gain widespread usage
- Privacy concerns an issue for users and non-users alike
What to Watch
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- Google pushes new features to its Google Nest Hub Max
- Google Duplex introduces new ecommerce functionality for Google Assistant users
- Apple’s HomePod 2 rumors
- Amazon Alexa’s multilingual function follows Google Assistant capabilities
- Voice assistant-supported headphones and earbuds
The Consumer – What You Need to Know
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- Majority of consumers use a voice assistant – one quarter use more than one
- Siri has a slight edge over Alexa as the most used voice assistant
- Smartphones are the primary device for using a voice assistant
- Basic queries and music are top voice assistant actions
- Availability and privacy concerns top reasons for not using voice assistants
- Amazon Echo products lead the smart speaker category
- One in five consumers use their voice to control the TV
- Surveillance concerns balance out enthusiasm with voice assistants
Voice Assistants Used
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- Two thirds of consumers use at least one voice assistant
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- Figure 11: Voice assistant usage, September 2019
- Voice assistant usage drops among 55+
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- Figure 12: Age distribution of voice assistant users, September 2019
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- Figure 13: Voice assistant users, by age, September 2019
- iPhone makes Siri the most used voice assistant
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- Figure 14: Voice assistants used, September 2019
- Figure 15: Voice assistant used – among single-assistant users, September 2019
- High iPhone ownership among younger consumers leads to higher Siri usage
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- Figure 16: Voice assistants used, by age, September 2019
- Bixby has the most overlap with other voice assistants
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- Figure 17: Voice assistants used, by single and multiple voice assistant usage, September 2019
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- Figure 18: Voice assistant usage, by voice assistants used, September 2019
- Figure 19: Voice assistant usage ranks, by respective voice assistant, September 2019
Voice Assistant Devices
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- Smartphone is the top device used to access voice assistants
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- Figure 20: Voice assistant devices, September 2019
- Older consumers go to smart speakers for voice assistants
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- Figure 21: Voice assistant devices, by age, September 2019
- Siri and Google Assistant more likely to be accessed via smartphones
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- Figure 22: Voice assistant devices, by voice assistants used, September 2019
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- Figure 23: Voice assistant devices, by single-voice-assistant users, September 2019
- Varied devices spur varied assistant usage
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- Figure 24: Voice assistant devices, by single and multiple voice assistant usage, September 2019
Voice Assistant Actions
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- More than half of users ask for music, information or weather weekly
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- Figure 25: Voice assistant actions, September 2019
- Users are more likely to perform specific tasks based on the voice assistants
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- Figure 26: Voice assistant actions, by voice assistants used, September 2019
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- Figure 27: Voice assistant actions, by single-voice assistant users, September 2019
- Siri more likely than other assistants to be used for communication
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- Figure 28: Voice assistant actions, by voice assistants used, September 2019
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- Figure 29: Voice assistant actions, by single-voice assistant users, September 2019
- Multiple voice assistants leads to more engagement
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- Figure 30: Voice assistant actions, by voice assistants used, September 2019
Reasons for Not Using a Voice Assistant
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- Awareness can be improved
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- Figure 31: Reasons for not using a voice assistant, September 2019
- Younger holdouts still prefer a touch screen interface
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- Figure 32: Reasons for not using a voice assistant – preference for touch screen, by age, September 2019
- English-speaking Hispanics slightly more likely to think voice assistants won’t understand them
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- Figure 33: Reasons for not using a voice assistant - understanding, by race and Hispanic origin, September 2019
Smart Speakers Owned
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- Nearly half of households own a smart speaker – Amazon leading the pack
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- Figure 34: Smart speakers owned, September 2019
- Age and income are strong drivers of smart speaker ownership
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- Figure 35: Smart speaker ownership, by age and income, September 2019
- Three quarters of Alexa users own an Echo product
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- Figure 36: Smart speakers owned, by voice assistants used, September 2019
- Apple’s brand power draws younger consumers to the HomePod
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- Figure 37: Smart speaker ownership index to all, by age, September 2019
Voice Controlled Household Devices
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- Two in five control at least one household device with their voice
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- Figure 38: Breakout of number of household devices controlled by voice, September 2019
- Consumers most likely to use their voice to control the TV
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- Figure 39: Household devices controlled by voice, September 2019
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- Figure 40: Roku informational email, October 2019
- Figure 41: Cox communications Contour TV direct mail, October 2019
- Figure 42: Dish acquisition email, October 2019
- Figure 43: Verizon Fios direct mail, August 2019
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- Figure 44: Xfinity voice remote informational email, May 2019
- Alexa and Google Assistant users control more household devices
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- Figure 45: Number of household devices controlled by voice per user, by voice assistants used, September 2019
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- Figure 46: Household devices controlled by voice, by single and multiple voice assistant usage, September 2019
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- Figure 47: Voice controlled household devices, by voice assistant devices – smartphone and smart speaker, September 2019
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- Figure 48: Amazon Guard informational email, May 2019
- Figure 49: Apple TV 4K informational email, April 2019
- Figure 50: AT&T direct mail, October 2019
Attitudes toward Voice Assistants
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- Concerns over surveillance remain a problem
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- Figure 51: Attitudes toward voice assistants – surveillance, by age, September 2019
- Figure 52: Amazon Echo Show 5 informational email, July 2019
- Users are optimistic about voice assistant technology
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- Figure 53: Attitudes toward voice assistants, September 2019
- Opportunity to establish a leader in the space
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- Figure 54: Attitudes toward voice assistants, September 2019
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- Figure 55: Attitudes toward voice assistants, by single and multiple voice assistant usage, September 2019
- High usage and household device integration raise importance of voice assistants
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- Figure 56: Attitudes toward voice assistants, by voice assistants used and single and multiple voice assistant usage, September 2019
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- Figure 57: Household devices controlled by voice, by voice assistant users and attitudes toward voice assistant users, September 2019
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- Figure 58: Attitudes toward voice assistants, by number of household items controlled by voice, September 2019
Consumer Segmentation – Attitudes toward Voice Assistants
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- Three groups of voice assistant users identified
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- Figure 59: Voice assistant user consumer segments, September 2019
- Loud Speakers
- Characteristics
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- Figure 60: Profile of Loud Speakers, September 2019
- Opportunities
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- Figure 61: Voice assistant actions, by consumer segments, September 2019
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- Figure 62: Attitudes toward voice assistants, by consumer segments, September 2019
- Mid Speakers
- Characteristics
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- Figure 63: Profile of Mid Speakers, September 2019
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- Figure 64: Voice assistant devices, by consumer segments, September 2019
- Opportunities
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- Figure 65: Voice assistant actions, by consumer segments, September 2019
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- Figure 66: Attitudes toward voice assistants, by consumer segments, September 2019
- Phone Speakers
- Characteristics
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- Figure 67: Profile of Phone Speakers, September 2019
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- Figure 68: Smart speaker ownership, by consumer segments, September 2019
- Opportunities
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- Figure 69: Voice assistants used, by consumer segments, September 2019
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- Figure 70: Single and multiple voice assistant usage, by consumer segments, September 2019
Appendix – Data Sources and Abbreviations
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- Data sources
- Consumer survey data
- Consumer qualitative research
- Direct marketing creative
- Abbreviations and terms
- Abbreviations
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