Voice Assistants and Skills - US - December 2019

OVERVIEW
What you need to know
Definition
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 
Overview
Market drivers and key players
Figure 1: Voice assistants used, September 2019
The issues
Lack of awareness – not necessarily access – limits participation
Figure 2: Reasons for not using a voice assistant, September 2019
Users as well as non-users worried about potential breaches in privacy
Figure 3: Attitudes toward voice assistants – surveillance, by age, September 2019
The opportunities
Consumers enjoy using voice assistants and look for improvements
Figure 4: Attitudes toward voice assistants – fun to use, by age, September 2019
No clear leader in the voice assistant space
Figure 5: Attitudes toward voice assistants, September 2019
Smart speakers can lead to more household device integration
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
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 
Smart home device adoption
In-house venture capital funding helps spur innovation
KEY PLAYERS – THE “BIG FOUR” VOICE ASSISTANTS  
Figure 7: Voice assistants used, September 2019
Apple’s Siri
Figure 8: Apple watch informational email, June 2019
Amazon’s Alexa
Figure 9: Amazon Show 5 informational email, July 2019
Google Assistant
Figure 10: AT&T Google Pixel promotional email, October 2019
Samsung Bixby
WHAT’S WORKING
Siri makes gains through smartphone penetration
Amazon Alexa Echo product sales increases usage
WHAT’S STRUGGLING
Samsung’s Bixby struggles to gain widespread usage
Privacy concerns an issue for users and non-users alike
WHAT TO WATCH
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 
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 
Two thirds of consumers use at least one voice assistant
Figure 11: Voice assistant usage, September 2019
Voice assistant usage drops among 55+
Figure 12: Age distribution of voice assistant users, September 2019
Figure 13: Voice assistant users, by age, September 2019
iPhone makes Siri the most used voice assistant
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
Figure 16: Voice assistants used, by age, September 2019
Bixby has the most overlap with other voice assistants
Figure 17: Voice assistants used, by single and multiple voice assistant usage, September 2019
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
Smartphone is the top device used to access voice assistants
Figure 20: Voice assistant devices, September 2019
Older consumers go to smart speakers for voice assistants
Figure 21: Voice assistant devices, by age, September 2019
Siri and Google Assistant more likely to be accessed via smartphones
Figure 22: Voice assistant devices, by voice assistants used, September 2019
Figure 23: Voice assistant devices, by single-voice-assistant users, September 2019
Varied devices spur varied assistant usage
Figure 24: Voice assistant devices, by single and multiple voice assistant usage, September 2019
VOICE ASSISTANT ACTIONS
More than half of users ask for music, information or weather weekly
Figure 25: Voice assistant actions, September 2019
Users are more likely to perform specific tasks based on the voice assistants
Figure 26: Voice assistant actions, by voice assistants used, September 2019
Figure 27: Voice assistant actions, by single-voice assistant users, September 2019
Siri more likely than other assistants to be used for communication
Figure 28: Voice assistant actions, by voice assistants used, September 2019
Figure 29: Voice assistant actions, by single-voice assistant users, September 2019
Multiple voice assistants leads to more engagement
Figure 30: Voice assistant actions, by voice assistants used, September 2019
REASONS FOR NOT USING A VOICE ASSISTANT
Awareness can be improved
Figure 31: Reasons for not using a voice assistant, September 2019
Younger holdouts still prefer a touch screen interface
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
Figure 33: Reasons for not using a voice assistant - understanding, by race and Hispanic origin, September 2019
SMART SPEAKERS OWNED
Nearly half of households own a smart speaker – Amazon leading the pack
Figure 34: Smart speakers owned, September 2019
Age and income are strong drivers of smart speaker ownership
Figure 35: Smart speaker ownership, by age and income, September 2019
Three quarters of Alexa users own an Echo product
Figure 36: Smart speakers owned, by voice assistants used, September 2019
Apple’s brand power draws younger consumers to the HomePod
Figure 37: Smart speaker ownership index to all, by age, September 2019
VOICE CONTROLLED HOUSEHOLD DEVICES 
Two in five control at least one household device with their voice
Figure 38: Breakout of number of household devices controlled by voice, September 2019
Consumers most likely to use their voice to control the TV
Figure 39: Household devices controlled by voice, September 2019
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
Figure 44: Xfinity voice remote informational email, May 2019
Alexa and Google Assistant users control more household devices
Figure 45: Number of household devices controlled by voice per user, by voice assistants used, September 2019
Figure 46: Household devices controlled by voice, by single and multiple voice assistant usage, September 2019
Figure 47: Voice controlled household devices, by voice assistant devices – smartphone and smart speaker, September 2019
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
Concerns over surveillance remain a problem
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
Figure 53: Attitudes toward voice assistants, September 2019
Opportunity to establish a leader in the space
Figure 54: Attitudes toward voice assistants, September 2019
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
Figure 56: Attitudes toward voice assistants, by voice assistants used and single and multiple voice assistant usage, September 2019
Figure 57: Household devices controlled by voice, by voice assistant users and attitudes toward voice assistant users, September 2019
Figure 58: Attitudes toward voice assistants, by number of household items controlled by voice, September 2019
CONSUMER SEGMENTATION – ATTITUDES TOWARD VOICE ASSISTANTS
Three groups of voice assistant users identified
Figure 59: Voice assistant user consumer segments, September 2019
Loud Speakers
Characteristics
Figure 60: Profile of Loud Speakers, September 2019
Opportunities
Figure 61: Voice assistant actions, by consumer segments, September 2019
Figure 62: Attitudes toward voice assistants, by consumer segments, September 2019
Mid Speakers
Characteristics
Figure 63: Profile of Mid Speakers, September 2019
Figure 64: Voice assistant devices, by consumer segments, September 2019
Opportunities
Figure 65: Voice assistant actions, by consumer segments, September 2019
Figure 66: Attitudes toward voice assistants, by consumer segments, September 2019
Phone Speakers
Characteristics
Figure 67: Profile of Phone Speakers, September 2019
Figure 68: Smart speaker ownership, by consumer segments, September 2019
Opportunities
Figure 69: Voice assistants used, by consumer segments, September 2019
Figure 70: Single and multiple voice assistant usage, by consumer segments, September 2019
APPENDIX – DATA SOURCES AND ABBREVIATIONS
Data sources
Consumer survey data
Consumer qualitative research
Direct marketing creative
Abbreviations and terms
Abbreviations