The market for speech and voice recognition is set to grow to 40.47 per cent to reach ₹210.63 crore by end of 2020, states a new study. The market was ₹149.95 crore as of December 2019.

The emergence of voice technology has been brought on by the rapid rise in internet consumption across the country. From voice assistant-enabled feature phones to connected devices like Alexa and Google Home, the ecosystem has surged ahead, opening up many avenues for brands and businesses.

Usage

On a daily basis, consumers tend to use voice assistants frequently to listen to music (65 per cent) and get daily news and updates (64 per cent), according to a study by WATConsult, the digital agency from Dentsu Aegis Network India. The agency has integrated with Google Assistant for the study.

The study showed that while Google Assistant is perceived to be smart, intelligent and helpful in search queries, Amazon’s Alexa is perceived as a reliable assistant to manage smart home devices.

The main objective of the study was to gather insight on voice-tech usage patterns and to help businesses make better decisions.

The study focuses on the market of voice technology in India, the perception of voice assistants, home management with use of voice and data security concerns.

In terms of privacy, 46 per cent of those surveyed said the voice assistant on their devices was always recording and listening. Many users said they are conscious about their privacy and feel tech companies are not safe, while others reiterated they did not feel secure in terms of their data being used elsewhere.

Around 76 per cent of users surveyed said they are familiar with speech and voice recognition technology, and on an average, users residing in metros said they have been interacting with voice assistants on various devices for at least a year.

While 60 per cent of the users give voice commands on their smartphones, users of Google Assistant tend to use it for answers to their queries and check on it for navigation while travelling.

Even at this early stage, majority of users (49 per cent) said they prefer a combo of speaking and typing that occurs frequently, especially on phones, while 38 per cent of users said they preferred to speak their queries aloud.

Majority of the users have considered product/service recommendations from the voice assistant and shopped online, according to the study.

With the increased adoption of voice technology, search behaviour among users is expected to change, leading to more individualised experiences.

More to come

The technology is set to further evolve with developments such as voice-to-text, text-to-voice, better user interfaces, enhanced data security and payment mechanisms — developments that will further accelerate digital business transformation and the process of automation in India.

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