They can tell you the weather for the coming week, the soccer scores from last week’s game, and even why the sky is blue.
Voices like Siri and Alexa are now key elements of sonic branding for tech companies like Apple and Amazon.
As they become more sophisticated, voice assistants are starting to offer us far more than just information.
We can now order groceries, buy tickets to the movie theater, and even sign up for piano classes.
Let’s explore why voice assistants are so popular today and how much they have a growing influence on our behavior as consumers.
What’s more, we’ll dive into the reasons why voice shopping is looking more and more like the future of commerce, and why it may be a good idea to get started on utilizing voice assistants with your business – starting with hiring voice-over talent.
What Are Voice Assistants?
Voice assistants are technological products based on natural language speech recognition.
You can interact with them to perform common tasks like scheduling appointments, playing music, or looking something up.
Voice assistants are located in ‘smart’ devices like smartphones, smart TVs, and smart speakers.
More than 40% of Americans now use voice search daily, and this number will likely continue increasing throughout the 2020s.
Why Do You Use Voice Assistants?
People use voice assistants for different reasons, but here are a few of the most common:
They Make Your Life Easier
The companies that created this will say that they wanted to make your life easier – and it’s hard to argue that they haven’t.
Voice assistants remove the need to look at your screen.
For example, you might want to play a cooking playlist while preparing dinner.
You no longer need to open Spotify, turn on your speaker, pair the speaker over Bluetooth, then select the playlist.
Instead, you can simply ask your voice assistant to do it for you.
They Allow You to Multitask
If you’ve ever seen a voice assistant ad, you’ve probably seen people speaking to their devices while focusing on a household task like ironing or washing dishes.
Multitasking is highly valued in today’s fast-paced society as it saves time and demonstrates a high level of cognitive control and coordination.
With that in mind, it’s no surprise that a machine that allows anyone to become a multitasker is so popular.
They Give You Instant Answers and Information
These machines ‘think’ as fast as the internet connection allows.
Removing the need for physical movement means that you can get almost anything instantaneously.
Wherever you are, whenever you need it, the information is there in a matter of seconds.
They Use Human Voices
An underrated factor that draws us to voice assistants is their actual voice.
As emotional beings, we take pleasure in our similarities with others — our opinion, hairstyle, profession, or the sound of our voice.
Until a few years ago, machines mostly spoke in synthetic voices that you couldn’t mistake for a person.
Professional voice actors and voice-over coaches have helped make voice assistants more personable and intuitive for users.
The biggest voice assistants to date (Siri, Alexa, Google) have used real voice actors combined with AI for an engaging user experience.
It’s why we speak to smart speakers like they are humans – when you get down to it, they are!
As a result, we laugh at their mistakes and appreciate the information they give us.
There is empathy between humans and voice assistants based on the connection of the human voice.
They Are Only Getting More Intelligent
As technology advances, these devices can handle increasingly complex requests.
Over time, they have become indispensable in every household, taking over time-consuming tasks from our everyday lives.
Voice assistants can call your family, book reservations at your favorite restaurant, and create reminders for key events as if it’s nothing.
Their abilities are even progressing to more advanced actions.
Now, you can now connect Siri, Google, or Alexa to your coffee machine and prepare an espresso from another room – who would’ve thought?
Impact of Voice Assistants on Consumer Behavior
Given the variety of benefits, it’s no wonder that voice assistants have completely changed our behaviors in the past ten years.
For many, they became a lifeline to continue with daily life while staying in the safety of their own home.
Unsurprisingly, marketers want to hitch a ride with voice assistants, using them as a sort of Trojan horse to get into people’s homes.
In fact, eCommerce businesses are now leveraging voice shopping to increase their revenue.
The global value of voice-assistant ecommerce purchases grew 4x in just two years from 2021 to 2023.
Let’s explore exactly what voice shopping is and how it became so prominent in the last few years.
Voice Shopping
Voice shopping, or vCommerce, refers to online purchases made through a voice assistant.
vCommerce is growing rapidly as consumers use more voice applications like voice assistants and interactive maps.
People already use their voice for many other tasks, so it was only a matter of time before voice purchasing became widespread.
Here are some other key factors driving vCommerce growth:
AI is only getting more complex and intuitive. Modern AI can suggest and purchase products/services relevant to the user’s lifestyle.
vCommerce is faster and more practical in many situations. Visiting the website, searching for a specific product, and going through checkout is a time-consuming process that isn’t always necessary.
Voice assistants help brands generate more revenue. With a one-step purchase sequence, there’s no room for doubt or hesitation in the user’s mind.
Still, voice assistants are changing more than just purchase behavior.
They can also be implemented in other areas of the customer experience including support, recommendations, data management, and more.
Becoming Part of the Future
Whether the growing intelligence and power of voice assistants fascinates or scares you, one thing is certain.
The role of voice assistants will continue to grow as both a medium for transactions and an influence on what you buy.
It’s not just vCommerce companies that will need voice assistants.
IT and marketing businesses and even government agencies are hiring voice actors to create voice assistant for everyday work tasks.
Voice assistants can provide extra customer, IT, or HR support to clients and customers when real-life support teams are occupied.
Chatbots are being developed with human voices to create a more meaningful connection.
User preferences for advanced chatbots with realistic voices will raise the standards for all industries.
Conclusion
Who would have thought that the human voice would be at the center of consumer-tech-brand relations?
With more and more Americans using voice-enabled technology every day, it’s clear that every business should embrace this technology to ensure sustainable growth.
Hiring voice-over talent is one of the most important steps when integrating voice assistant technology into your business or project.
Click here to find out more about what we offer…better yet, why not ask your own voice assistant about us!
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