Voice Search’s (Un)predictable Future

Published by Maxwell Wunderlin [ 2.20.20 ]

Voice search is an emerging feature that is becomingly increasingly present on our devices and in our lives.

Google was the first well-known company to introduce the voice search capability in 2008, a year after the release of the iPhone. The creation of their “Voice Search app for iPhone” lead to the eventual inclusion of voice search technology directly to Google.com, offering the ability to search with the phrase “OK Google.”

The continual fascination with this search technology lead to developments like the inclusion of Siri on the iPhone released in 2011. Since then, its popularity has only increased with more than half of adults today engaging in voice search technology.

Courtesy of Voicebot.ai — Courtesy of **Voicebot.ai**

From smartphones and tablets to TVs and computers, voice search is becoming a popular and reliable feature that has impacted users’ search experiences.

In July 2019, Voicebot.ai reported that 33% of users engaged with voice search monthly in early 2019, increasing from 25% in 2018.

The upward trend of voice search engagement opens the market for companies to develop products specially made to feature this emerging capability.

The commercialization of voice search technology has skyrocketed in the past decade, with more voice search-enabled products available than ever before. The Google Home, Apple HomePod, and Amazon’s Echo & Alexa are just a few of many new devices that were created specifically to utilize and integrate voice search.

Last year Statista reported that in 2018, over 34 million voice search-enabled speakers were sold in the United States, with 2019 sales projected at 36 million units.

Unit shipments of smart speakers in the United States from 2016 to 2020 (in millions) Published by Shanhong Liu, Jan 8, 2020 — Unit shipments of smart speakers in the United States from 2016 to 2020 *(in millions)* Published by Shanhong Liu, Jan 8, 2020

Including these statistics, there are now more than 66 million Americans who own a smart speaker, with this number projected to increase further in 2020.

These devices that have been created solely to feature the capabilities of voice search technology have grown in popularity and dropped in price, due to the high supply, over the past few years. Trends show the popularity of such devices are creating a larger market than was even possible just a decade ago.

It is clear that the market for voice search-enabled devices is only increasing, allowing for major companies to capitalize off the popular voice-activated features.

The technology is becoming more integrated in our devices as new products come out each year, each featuring a unique voice search ability more powerful than the last.

People have became increasing accustomed to voice search technology, relying on its convince more and more each year. Younger generations especially are using voice search through smart speakers, essentially growing up with a strong familiarity with the device’s abilities.

The number of people engaging with voice search technology is increasing daily, creating a dependence on these types of devices knowingly or not.

In order to work, smart speakers must remain on (with the microphone active) at all times. This essentially means the microphone is constantly on, allowing for nearly anything and everything to be recorded, even while seemingly dormant.

Users are sacrificing some of their privacy in trading it for the convenience of voice search-activated smart speakers.

Voice search technology and smart speakers are certainly here to stay, but the future capabilities of these devices are uncertain.

Regardless of if privacy matters more than convenience, the global smart speaker market will surely continue to grow in the coming years.

In an interview with John Vary, a futurologist at John Lewis Partnership, he said,

““Ultimately what we could see is a ‘brandless’ future, as consumers search by product rather than the label. This should give brands motivation to ensure that consumers are searching specially for their product.””

Voice search is becoming so integrated within our lives that marketers are trying to catch up and use this emerging medium to their benefit. The voice-activated commands used today are becoming increasingly personal and detailed, with the ability to shop online now easier than ever.

Those with an Amazon Alexa speaker have the ability to order pizza delivery, finding something on UberEats, or even add groceries to their shopping list simply by speaking.

Jim Cridlin, global head of innovation and partnerships at Mindshare, a media and marketing services company, believes that this technology is advancing at an immense rate.

The ability for these smart speakers, but more importantly advertisers and marketers, to understand consumers’ habits is reaching a new level. Frequently using voice search and allowing microphones to constantly be on is changing our conception of privacy.

In 2019, “Amazon recently filed a patent for its Echo device that can analyze a person’s voice to understand if they are experiencing feelings of happiness, joy or boredom,” Cridlin said.

“With that data, companies can personalize voice experiences.”

As people continue to use voice search technology, the capabilities and personal understanding of our search commands will only increase.

With the exponential growth already seen with voice search, one can infer the percentage of global users will continue to grow consistently each year, until manual searches become outdated and nearly forgotten.

The long-term effects of smart speaker usage, on people who have become overly dependent is not yet known. Only time will tell how heavily humans will rely on technological advancements for the sake of convenience.