It’s been a busy year so far for the voice industry. As more and more voice-activated devices flood the market and the major players like Google and Amazon continue to roll our new features and AI-capabilities, voice users are now more well served than ever.  But in a fragmented landscape of new shiny conversational technologies, brands are scrambling to develop their longer-term strategies to win in the voice economy. One key part of this puzzle is understanding the scale and type of usage.

‍

How important is voice to consider? Read for yourself.

Our latest market report The State of UK Voice Q2 2021 is available and free to download now.   Don’t have time? Read our key take-outs now and download the report for later.   

‍‍

• How many people use voice? 7 in 10 UK consumers have used a voice-assistant in the last month
• How frequently do people use voice? 46% of voice users use it at least daily whilst 86% use it at least weekly
• What do people use voice for? The top uses are entertainment (listening to music and radio), checking weather and traffic, organisation and search. In fact, 32%of users are using their voice devices at least daily for search.

‍

Top Insights from the Report:

1. Talking to tech isn’t so alien anymore

8 in 10 UK consumers of UK consumers under 54 years have used their voice to interact with some form of digital device in the last month.

2. Amazon Alexa continues to dominate the UK voice market

34% of those surveyed have used Amazon Alexa in the last month; compared to 25% Siri and 20% Google Assistant usage.

3. Smartphones are a rapidly growing channel for voice

One key area of growth identified is smart-phone users, who have increased their frequency and range of use of voice. 76% have used voice-commands on their phone in the last month; with just as many people sending WhatsApp voice notes as they are searching via voice on their mobiles.

4. Voice habits are more flexible than you might think

38% of voice users reported that they don’t have a set routine with their voice-assistant, using it “randomly for lots of different things” instead.

5. Most voice users still don’t use voice apps (consciously)

Only 1 in 4 
voice users reported they had tried 3 or more voice apps; and friends and families remain the number one way users discover AlexaSkills and Google Actions (39%).

6. There is room for improvement, but users still “rely” on their voice-assistants

Although 3 in 5 said they often weren’t that satisfied with the first response their voice-assistant gives them, 1 in 2 said they rely on their voice-assistants now.  With speed and convenience being the most cited benefit of the technology, users appear to be forgiving the teething problems of the technology for the value they deliver.

Download the full report now

‍

‍