Voice assistants, smart speakers, and all manner of voice-first technology have enjoyed remarkable growth and adoption. Voicebot.AI reports that the smart speaker install base within the U.S. grew 40% from 2018 to 2019, now exceeding 66 million units. International markets have grown even more dramatically — Dutch adoption of smart speakers exploded from 0% to 5% in just four and a half months, for example, with no sign of slowing down.
Your Company Needs a Strategy for Voice Technology
Voice assistants, smart speakers, and all manner of voice-first technology are enjoying remarkable growth and adoption. Much like the web back in the ‘90s, voice AI now represents a vast ocean of possibilities and potential. As voice assistants become more context-driven, they’ll also become more proactive, finding new ways to serve us and improve our lives, while also challenging our notions of privacy and security. It won’t be long before every company will be expected to own and manage its own voice-first presence and capabilities, much like every company is expected to own and manage their web presence and capabilities. The emergence of voice, which serves as the front door for artificial intelligence and machine learning, is already making a mark on a wide variety of industries. Companies that aren’t paying attention to voice now are sure to lose customers going forward.