It’s estimated that every 1 in 4 U.S. adults own a smart speaker (i.e., Google Home, Amazon Echo). eMarketer forecasts that nearly 92.3 percent smartphone users will be using voice assistants by 2023. Voice interfaces are advancing at an exponential rate in all industries, with notable growth in healthcare to banking.
Millennials are the main driver for this shift towards voice user interfaces. The number of IoT devices such as smart thermostats, appliances, and speakers are giving voice assistants more utility in a connected user’s life. Many experts predict that nearly every application will integrate voice technology in some way in the next 5 years. We provide a high-level overview of the potential that voice has and 7 key predictions we think will take off in the coming years.
5 Key Predictions for Voice
Mobile App Integration
Voice-activated apps make it easier for the end-user to navigate an app — even if they don’t know the exact name of the item they’re looking for. Voice-powered apps increase functionality, and save users from complicated app navigation. While at this stage, voice integration may be seen as a nice-to-have by users, this will soon become a requirement that users will expect.
Voice-Tech in Healthcare
Chatbots and virtual assistants played a vital role in the fight against COVID-19. Apple’s Siri now walks users through assessment questions and then recommends telehealth apps. Voice and conversational AI have made health services more accessible to everyone. Be prepared to see more investment in voice-tech integration in the healthcare industry in the years to come.
Search Behaviors Will Change
Voice-based ad revenue could reach $19 billion by 2022, thanks in large part to the growth of voice search apps on mobile devices. Users simply cannot see or touch a voice interface unless it is connected to an Alexa or Google Assistant app. As voice search grows in popularity, advertising agencies and marketers expect Google and Amazon to open their platforms to additional forms of paid messages.
Individual Experiences and Voice Cloning
Google Home is able to support up to six user accounts and detect unique voices, which allows Google Home users to customize many features. For those using Alexa, simply saying “learn my voice” will allow users to create separate voice profiles so the technology can detect who is speaking. Machine learning tech and GPU power development commoditize custom voice creation and make the speech more emotional.
Smart Displays
Sales of smart displays rose year-on-year by 21 percent to 9.5 million units, while basic smart speakers fell by three percent. Smart displays, like the Russian Sber portal or a Chinese smart screen Xiaodu, are already equipped with a suite of upgraded AI-powered functions, including far-field voice interaction and facial recognition. In 2021, we expect for there to be a lot of innovation in the world of smart display to integrate more advanced technology and more customization.
Why Adopt a Mobile-Voice Strategy?
Mobile phones are already personalized, more so than any website. Voice applications enable consumers to use natural language to eliminate or reduce manual effort. The voice and speech recognition market is expected to grow at a 17.2 percent CAGR to reach $26.8 billion by 2025. Users are searching for quicker and more efficient ways of accomplishing tasks.
Voice assistants are shaping up to become the hubs of our connected homes and increasingly connected lives. Amazon Transcribe, an automatic speech recognition (ASR) service, enables developers to add speech-to-text capability to their applications. Voice technology will become a primary interface to the digital world and with it, expertise for voice interface design and voice app development will be in greater demand.
Voice has now established itself as the ultimate mobile experience. A lack of skills and knowledge make it particularly hard for companies to adopt a voice strategy. There is a lot of opportunity for much deeper and more conversational experiences with customers. The question is is your brand willing to jump on this opportunity?
