Consumers: 46% use Voice Assistants in US, 68% Think AI Less Biased

Accenture’s Digital Consumer Survey in 2017 included 26,000 people from 26 countries. The 2017 edition included a section on artificial intelligence (AI). The survey found that 46% of US consumers are using “voice-enabled digital assistants” and the numbers were even higher at 55% in India and China. Equally interesting is the breakdown by age group which as expected shows more usage among younger cohorts. Over 30% of 14-17 year olds use the voice assistants regularly with another 20% that just started and 33% more interested. That is 84% of young teenagers either using a voice assistant on their smartphones or planning to.

Source: Accenture Digital Consumer Survey 2017

The report goes on to say:

And, interest is not limited to younger generations. About one-third of consumers in every age group are interested in these features. Currently, stand-alone, digital voice-enabled assistants are more exclusively in the hands of early adopters, but a strong majority of early adopters are using them on a daily basis. Such pervasive usage should lead to advocacy and is a positive signal for this category as it represents a much more enthusiastic adoption pattern than many new product categories recently released.

Stand-alone is translated as Amazon Alexa and Google Home at the time of the survey. The fact that so many people are using voice assistants on their smartphones and there were 2.5-3.5 million Amazon Echo and Google Home devices shipped in Q4 2016 suggests that consumer comfort with voice assistants is very high.

68-percent Think AI is Less Biased Than Humans

The survey also indicates a high comfort level with AI in general. In fact, 68% of surveyed consumers believe that AI is less biased than humans. Sixty-four percent believe that AI-based assistants communicate more politely and 68% find them to be faster.

Source: Accenture Digital Consumer Survey 2017

A perception that AI is less biased and more polite suggests that consumers are prepared to consider computer-based services more reliable and trustworthy than those provided by humans. This helps explain how quickly voice-based virtual assistants have been adopted and should offer companies confidence in rolling our services through these platforms. Consumers are not wary of the technology. They appear eager to use it and that may be in part because it is “available anytime,” and also because the AI doesn’t harbor biases or limitations inherent to human interaction.
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You can view the full report by clicking the image below.