Imagine a world where we can get answers to any question simply by speaking it aloud. No more hunching over tiny smartphone screens or endlessly clicking between browser tabs. Just an omnipresent assistant ready for any request, any time.
That world is now tantalizingly within reach thanks to incredible recent leaps in artificial intelligence and natural language processing. And early fanfare for voice-powered helpers like Siri and Alexa suggests people can’t get enough. Read on for my deep dive into our impending voice revolution.
Decades in the Making
To understand the significance of today’s boom times for voice tech, it helps to trace its evolution. And like with many transformative technologies, the origin stories go back further than you might suspect.
The very concept of conversational interfaces with machines has captured man’s imagination for generations. We have long envisioned artificial intelligence not as monolithic supercomputers, but as approachable, even lovable companions.
Some early examples of this humanized AI concept in mainstream media include the soothing ship computer in 1968’s seminal 2001: A Space Odyssey and the doting robot child David in Steven Spielberg’s A.I. in 2001. But cultural fascination really exploded as Apple’s Siri, Amazon’s Alexa, Microsoft’s Cortana and the Google Assistant slowly made their way into our homes over the past decade.
From Novelty to Indispensability in Just a Few Years
Given how enthusiastically portrayed digital sidekicks are in fiction, the leap to real-world enthusiasm is perhaps no surprise. But few could have predicted just how rapidly early voice recognition tools would transform into must-have aides.
When Apple unveiled an innovative new “personal assistant” named Siri alongside the iPhone 4S in 2011, many saw it as an intriguing gimmick, but certainly not the kind of breakthrough feature that moves millions of units. Yet move units it did. And rival tech giants scrambled to launch competitors integrated into their own wildly popular hardware products.
Fast forward eight short years and voice assistants now handle an astounding 5 billion plus requests per month worldwide. And based on countless industry reports, as well as the breakneck innovation cycles from Apple, Amazon, Google and others, this is still only the very beginning.
Over just the past half decade, smart speakers like Amazon Echo have gone from non-existent to occupying upwards of 15% of US households. And the assistants powering these devices, as well as smartphone apps, are improving at rates never before seen, with the average American now chatting conversationally with their digital helpers over 30 times per day.
Voice Will Claim 50%+ of Searches by the Mid-2020s
With such astronomical growth already measured, it takes little imagination to grasp voice tech’s inevitable conquest of search and beyond. But grasping the timeline has proven more challenging to industry forecasters.
Their initial visions for voice often failed to anticipate the fits and starts of early natural language advancement. As such most predictions have been rapidly revised to account for quicker uptake.
Back in 2016, pioneering voice investment firm OMERS Ventures predicted 50% of searches would be voice-powered by 2020. At the time that seemed ambitious. Now of course we know searches have not yet reached that tipping point due precisely to early limitations around query complexity. However virtually all agree the writing is clearly on the wall.
In late 2019, respected analysis firm ComScore doubled down on the dominance of voice, positing over 50% would arrive by 2023. Others believe changeover could be even more swift, pegging 2021 or 2022 as the horizon for search primacy.
And when that time comes, brands without voice strategies will vanish into oblivion. I advise business leaders to start tailoring for conversational content now before that overnight extinction arrives!
Why We’ve Welcomed Assistants into Our Lives
Given how prolifically and rapidly early voice tech products have been adopted by consumers, tech giants seem to have cracked some fundamental code underpinning joy and engagement. But what explains the depth of connection these brands have forged with users?
Convenience and Friction Removal
While still imperfect and glitchy at times, assistants like Siri have evolved to reliably perform certain menial tasks without the need for intrusive ads or confusing menus. Want to set a timer while cooking? Just say “Hey Siri set timer for 10 minutes” instead of washing hands, unlocking your phone and navigating app interfaces.
Incredible Time Savings
Vast swaths of modern workers operate in perpetual time debt, struggling relentlessly to balance myriad obligations. Voice eliminates millions of minutes per year otherwise lost to typing searches, texts and more on our secondary devices. Recapturing such time gifts many irreplaceable mental bandwidth.
Multitasking Enablement
Closely coupled with time savings, voice also enables next-level multitasking. We can now query assistants while driving, running, lifting weights, playing with kids and too many other scenarios to name. Doing so keeps us stimulated and informed while fully present.
Anthropomorphic Connection
Make no mistake, today’s assistants still demonstrate only narrow, goal-oriented intelligence. But ingenious writers and voice actors have masking such limited capacities beneath approachable personalities we come to care for.
This emotional connection runs so deep that 80% of smart speaker owners feel gratitude toward their device. Brands must realize such affinity and leverage it through further anthropomorphic branding efforts.
Getting Ready for the Rise of Voice Search
Hopefully the overwhelming statistics around voice adoption make clear that brands must start tailoring for voice search’s needs now or risk being left behind. But what specifically should you do to capitalize on voice tech’s incredible marketing potential?
I advise technical teams and content producers work closely together on the following voice initiatives:
Audit Your Site for Voice Readiness
Start by understanding precisely how much on-site content reads naturally out loud. Eliminate rambling paragraphs lacking clarity. Break concepts into concise bullet points for digestibility.
Implement Structured Data Markup
Mark key data like addresses, events and products in semantic HTML that voice assistants can process. This will unlock vocal interactions other sites can’t provide.
Optimize for Long-Tail Queries
Voice search questions use more nuanced natural language. Research likely long-tail queries around offerings and directly answer each with tailored content.
Mimic the Flow of Spoken Conversations
Study transcript logs of real consumer interactions with assistants and emulate such phrasing in articles. Provide intuitive verbal guidance.
The voice revolution brings challenges, but the rewards for early, thoughtful adoption are too great to ignore. Start tailoring content now and voice search will unlock game-changing emotional connections with future customers.
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