Adobe Analytics Predicts How Voice Will Change in 2019

Consumers are using their voice much more frequently to engage with devices and the Internet. Smart speakers from Amazon, Google and others can take much of the credit here, quickly becoming popular gadgets for people to have in their homes. While the growth is certainly impressive, voice devices are still nowhere near the ubiquity of smartphones. The industry currently stands at a familiar juncture point, where an ecosystem of useful skills is needed to make the technology transformational and change the types of experiences consumers have each day. This happened successfully with the smartphone as we know, where the proliferation of useful apps gave birth to entire companies and even industries in some cases.

Adobe Analytics commissioned a new survey of over 1,000 US consumers, to look at how people are leveraging voice now. While we are seeing it become a daily habit for early adopters and the emergence of new use cases, society at large are still in wait-and-see mode. When asked about why they have not purchased a smart speaker for instance, the number one reason – as cited by 43% of respondents – was simply that they don’t feel they have any use for one.

Smart speakers are transformative

Like with smartphones, consumers are waiting to be inspired by new and interesting ways to use voice. If the industry can convince those that do not own a smart speaker to get one, we believe the effects can be exponential. Smart speakers have quickly become the most influential device in making voice a part of the social fabric. New Adobe data shows that only 38% of non-owners find voice technology to work well; this nearly doubles to 72% for owners. And when asked how often they use voice over a keyboard to interact with devices and the Internet, 58% of owners say at least daily, versus 24% for non-owners. This shows that having a smart speaker dramatically increases confidence in the technology, and more frequent usage as a result.

When we asked owners which voice assistant-enabled device was their favorite, the smart speaker easily leapfrogged to the top spot for the majority (52%) of respondents, while smartphones dips from 69% to just 27%. Smart speakers have already created a generation of users that have embraced voice as a credible challenger to touch interfaces. The challenge now lies in finding useful skills that supplement and/or replace activities that were once completed with taps and a screen – to drive adoption in the mass market. With the survey results as a guide, Adobe is predicting the top 5 use cases that have greatest growth potential in 2019.