The boom in the connected speaker market
By 2021, there will be more voice interfaces than touch tablets. Is this the end of an era? In addition to technological innovation and usages, this dazzling growth translates a profound shift from touch to voice. With what consequences? How will we humans interfere with these technological objects? To what end, for what purpose and in what way?
The numbers speak for themselves. Last year, the market for connected speakers grew by 70% at the expense of touch tablets, according to the study conducted by the company Strategy Analytics. Despite the fact that the market for voice search products is still low in Switzerland and Europe, it is doing well and promises to revolutionize our uses. Currently, it is still dominated by the Californian and Chinese mastodons: Amazon and Google in the lead, followed by Alibaba and Apple.
From fingers to voice
At this rate, there will be more connected and vocal speakers in 2021 than tablets. By 2023, their number could be close to 600 million units worldwide. Is this the end of an era? In addition to technological innovation and uses, this rapid growth of connected and vocal objects reflects a profound shift from touch to voice. What are the consequences ?
IBM Watson, Apple Siri, Google Now or Microsoft Cortana… , from their first appearance in 2011, voice assistants were designed to answer basic and service-oriented questions, such as weather, shopping. Now they are gaining in intelligence and can be integrated into all types of devices: helmets, glasses, appliances.
This democratisation of the voice raises many questions at different levels. How are we humans going to interfere with these technological objects? To what end, for what purpose and in what way? The other question revolves around the security of these technologies. A number of experts are looking at the ways in which we are going to live together with these intelligent speakers in our private space. It will still be private if we are always “under surveillance”. Finally, how will this voice revolution revolutionize business and government services?
A revolution in progress
More than a trend, it is a robolution. Because yes, the future is connected speakers and voice assistants. Filled with augmented intelligence, they simulate a human conversation as they understand natural language and promise to revolutionize our lives in our access to services. Their rise condemns email, phone and mobile applications. E-commerce, financial, legal and medical services, this robolution will impact all sectors of the economy.
Indeed, the more these objects will be able to interact intelligently with the customer and understand his needs, the more personalized the service will be. This is what users expect! This is a great challenge for companies that will have to completely rethink the way they get in touch with their customers. After social networks and mobile, they will now have to adapt to this vocal revolution. The real challenge for companies today is to use these new tools to experiment, learn and gain autonomy, because in the near future, conversational agents will be the main point of contact with customers. It’s an adjustment to be made. It’s an adjustment to be made.
