A study from Microsoft on consumer adoption of voice technology in 2019 shows that most people are using voice search.

Microsoft’s 2019 Voice report analyzes the adoption and usage of voice-enabled technology, such as smart speakers and digital assistants.

According to the report, 75% of households will have at least one smart speaker by 2020.

Here’s a summary of key findings from the report which are specifically related to voice search.

Conducting a search is the most popular voice command

Searching for something is by far the most people thing to do with voice-enabled technology:

72% of people use voice search through a personal digital assistant

35% of people have used voice search through a smart home speaker

Here’s what people are searching for with smart speakers and digital assistants:

68% of people say they search for quick facts

65% of people say they look up directions

52% of people say they search for a product or service

44% of people say they conduct additional research for products and services

31% of people say they use voice search to compare products and services

So, 2 out of 3 of the top types of searches are shopping-related. Voice search is shaping up to be a big business driver for retailers.

In fact, 54% of users believe that digital assistants will help them make retail purchases within 5 years.

As the adoption of voice assistants grows, so do customer expectations.

According to the study, 57% of people expect their favorite brands to have their own digital assistants within the next 5 years.

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Being discoverable in voice search is the first step for businesses that aren’t already.

As for next steps, businesses may want to consider building their own digital assistant to work with other voice assistants.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella says, in the near future, brands will need to have their own agents that can talk directly to customers across multiple personal digital assistants.

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