73% of Drivers Will Use an In-Car Voice Assistant by 2022: Report
Nearly three-quarters of drivers will use an in-car voice assistant three years from now, according to a new report from Capgemini Research Institute. Consumers are anticipating they will use the voice assistants in their cars for a variety of services, but are hoping that the quality of the technology will improve to match their expected needs by then.
Optimistic Usage
According to the report, 73% of drivers expect to use voice assistants built into their cars for one or more purposes by 2022. That’s a significant jump from the 49% of consumers who use their automotive voice assistant in some way right now. The percentage varies depending on the feature, but the overall trend is uniformly upward. Currently, the most popular use for a car-based voice assistant is to control music and navigation. The 77% of consumers who use the voice assistants for that purpose is expected to rise to 85% in three years. The biggest growth is expected to be in using a voice assistant in a car to book a car service appointment and integrating it with home-based voice technology, rising 24% to 74% and 78% respectively as can be seen in the chart above.
The high percentage of drivers who expect to use a voice assistant in the future arguably shows quite a lot of optimism about potential improvements for in-car voice assistants. When surveyed about different ways they use their in-car voice assistants, only 28% of consumers on average described their experience as great, as opposed to the 59% who said it needs improvement. Making improvements has a direct correlation with more use, according to the survey. Around three-quarters of users who have a good experience with an automotive voice assistant will tell their family and friends about it.
“Voice assistants are becoming an essential part of how people experience cars, and safely manage their lives while on the move,” Capgemini global head of automotive Markus Winkler said in a statement. “This report demonstrates how the automotive industry should be using voice as a strategic asset both to build customer engagement and grow revenues with connected services over time.”
Automotive Voice Assistant Availability Grows
Using a voice assistant in a car depends on having the voice assistant there to use. The options for drivers are expanding quickly, including Amazon Alexa integrating into some General Motors and the next Volkswagen Golf model and Volvo’s integration of Android into a line of electric cars. Ford, meanwhile, just came out with a new version of its in-house voice assistant platform.
The continued rollout of cars with voice assistants fits how 72% of automotive executives said voice assistants are important for their business strategy. How well they understand what the voice assistants actually do is less clear, however. Far more executives than consumers think the voice assistants understand different customer needs and preferences, 81% to 59%. The same goes for how well voie assistants understand context when responding and if the voice assistants improve based on user suggestions. According to the report’s findings, reaching the point where most drivers are using the voice assistants in their cars happily will take some rethinking by automotive companies of what the technology does now and what it can do in the years ahead.
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