Speak easy global edition

GLOBAL
“Daydreamer” by Michael Reeder, 2016, courtesy of Michael Reeder.

Voice technology is sweeping the world, as
assistants such as Amazon’s Alexa and smart
speakers such as Baidu’s Little Fish capture
our imagination. Talking computers, once
seen only on the silver screen, are becoming
an everyday reality, at our beck and call as
developments in artificial intelligence (AI)
transform our relationship with them.
Early adopters report that they “wouldn’t be
without Alexa” as she becomes “integral” to
their daily routine. Chinese YouTuber Jing
Jing has accumulated 6.5 million views as
she plays Eighth Note,1
the voice-activated
smartphone game taking Asia by storm.
The age-old medium of voice has lost none
of its relevance in the 21st century.
ComScore forecasts that half of all
searches will be voice searches by 2020,2
and by 2021, Ovum predicts that there
will be more digital assistants than humans
on the planet.3
The opportunity is ripe for businesses
to get immersed in the voice-activated
world. We’ve investigated the impact of
voice technology on consumer behavior in
nine countries across Asia-Pacific, Europe
and North America, and distilled the key
business opportunities for brands. While
there are considerable cultural nuances and
market factors in each country that dictate
the local response, we have also identified
strong trends that resonate on a global scale.
Voice technology will not just redefine how
we live our lives, but will also bring dramatic
change to the customer experience.
Now is the time for marketers to learn how
to Speak Easy.
Jeremy Pounder
Futures director
Mindshare UK
Elizabeth Cherian
UK director
The Innovation Group
J. Walter Thompson
A global trends and insight
report on voice technology
and its impact on brands.
1. Yvette Tan, “Play This Hilarious Voice-activated ‘Flappy Bird’ That’s Going Viral,” Mashable, March 03, 2017, on.mash.to/2smzAPk 2. Christi Olson, “Just Say It: The Future of Search is Voice and Personal Digital Assistants,” Campaign, 25 April
2016, bit.ly/2o1IvQs 3. Ovum, “Digital Assistant and Voice AI–Capable Device Forecast : 2016-21,” April 2017

ABOUT THIS REPORT
Carried out in equal partnership between
J. Walter Thompson Innovation Group
London and Mindshare Futures, our
research comprised several methodologies,
spanning nine countries (United Kingdom,
United States, Germany, Spain, Thailand,
Japan, Australia, China and Singapore) and
covered the six-month period January 2017
to June 2017.
NEUROSCIENCE
EXPERIMENT
In partnership with Neuro-Insight,
we used Steady-State Topography (SST)
brain-imaging technology to measure how
the brain responds to voice technology
versus text or typing alternatives for a
series of tasks. The participants were 102
smartphone users aged between 18 and 65
who shop with Amazon.
QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
More than 30 UK respondents took part
in a two-week self-ethnography project,
capturing their own behaviors and attitudes
in a series of voice-technology tasks.
We then ran two focus groups in the United
Kingdom with 12 of these participants. A
mixture of early adopters (who use voice
technology at least once per week) and early
majority users (who use voice technology
less frequently than once per week) was
recruited. Roughly 40% of the early
adopters already owned an Amazon Echo/
Echo Dot. We repeated the focus groups in
Shanghai in partnership with Kantar.
EXPERT INTERVIEWS
We conducted in-depth interviews with
experts across sectors including artificial
intelligence (AI), neuroscience, marketing,
sound design and radio.
QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
We carried out a quantitative survey
using SONAR™, J. Walter Thompson’s
proprietary market research tool, surveying
over 1,000 smartphone owners aged 18+
in four countries (United Kingdom, United
States, Germany and Spain). We also
partnered with Kantar to conduct a survey
of around500smartphoneownersaged18+
in an additional five countries (Thailand,
Japan, Australia, China and Singapore).
The total number of respondents globally
amounted to 6,780.
SECONDARY RESEARCH
We carried out extensive desk research that
synthesized international cross-category
case studies.
DING DONG PARTNERSHIP
Beijing Linglong Co., Ltd provided
DingDong home smart speakers for our
Chinese focus group research. J. Walter
Thompson is also partnering with LingLong
Tech to explore and develop branded voice
content and solutions in China.
3

CONTENTS
GLOBAL VIEW
Voice Today
The Future Voice Consumer
Brand Futures
Implications
MARKET USAGE
Australia
China
Germany
Japan
Singapore
Spain
Thailand
United Kingdom
United States
THANK YOUS
Intuition Robotics has created
ELLI•Q™, an active voice
companion for older adults,
designed to help them engage
with new technologies.
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GLOBAL
VIEW
Resonantia by Jeff Louviere
and Vanessa Brown explores
the relationship between
photography and music,
by visualising 12 musical
notes and converting the
photographs into audio.

VOICE TODAY
We stand on the cusp of a fundamental
shift in how we relate to computers.
Over the past 50 years, we have been on a
journey that has repeatedly simplified our
modes of interaction, from punch cards
to keyboard, mouse and then touch. Now
we return to the most natural and intuitive
form of interaction—voice.
For most of our cultural evolution
as a species, humans have
transmitted knowledge and ideas
from one generation to another
through oral tradition—the voice
is therefore perhaps the most
innate and intuitive way for us
to communicate
Nick Ryan, composer, sound designer,
artist and audio specialist
Developments in speech recognition and
natural language processing (NLP) mean
we can now talk to computers in a way that
only appeared in science fiction until just
a few years ago. Speech recognition error
rates now match human parity at 5%, and
are improving all the time.4
Google recently
announced that it had cut its speech-
recognition error rate by more than 30%
since 2012.5
A lot of people underestimate the
difference between 95% and 99%
accuracy in speech recognition...
it’s the difference between you
hardly using it and using it all the
time without thinking about it
Andrew Ng, former chief scientist, Baidu6
As technology further develops, voice
interactionwillnotonlyshapehowweliveour
lives but also how brands reach consumers.
GLOBAL LANDSCAPE
The current voice landscape is dominated
by tech giants that offer propositions
on a global scale. According to Google,
20% of US mobile searches on Android are
by voice,7
and Amazon sold 11 million Echo
devices worldwide in the period from mid-
2015 to 1 December 2016.8
Future growth
is anticipated to be strong. The technology
research consultancy Ovum estimates that
by 2021 the native digital assistant installed
base will surpass 7.5 billion active devices
—more than one per person on the planet.
Ovum predicts Google Assistant will take
the lion’s share of the market with 23%,
followed by Samsung’s Bixby (14.5%),
Siri (13.1%), Amazon’s Alexa (3.9%),
and Microsoft’s Cortana (2.3%).9
Human language is the new user
interface layer
Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft10
4. Chris Weller, “IBM Speech Recognition Is on the Verge of Superhuman Accuracy,” Business Insider UK, March 9, 2017, read.bi/2rCSVZQ 5. Jordan Novet, “Google Has Slashed Its Speech Recognition Word Error Rate By More Than 30% Since 2012,” VentureBeat, January 11, 2017, bit.ly/2sIaMxB 6. Contagious, “Bedtime Story
Sounds,” December 13, 2016, bit.ly/2mM1KgJ 7. Jennifer Slegg, “20% of Google’s Mobile Search Queries Are Now Voice Queries,” The SEM Post, May 19, 2016, bit.ly/2n0oAli 8. Ángel González, “Amazon Has Sold More Than 11 Million Echo Devices, Morgan Stanley Says,” Seattle Times, January 19, 2017, bit.ly/2nV4Oab
9. Ovum, “Digital Assistant and Voice AI–Capable Device Forecast: 2016–21,” April 2017 10. Richard Waters and Daniel Thomas, “Microsoft Puts AI at Centre of Tech Plans,” Financial Times, March 30, 2017, on.ft.com/2s99i33
The Echo Dot, which learns and adapts to its owner,
is the smallest smart speaker in Amazon’s collection.
6

AMAZON
Powered by voice assistant Alexa, the
Amazon Echo first went on sale in the
US in 2014 exclusively for Amazon Prime
members, but became widely available in
2015. The launch of Echo and the smaller
Echo Dot at the end of September 2016 in
the UK and Germany kickstarted consumer
interest by creating a new device category
for voice. There is talk of expansion to Asia
this year, with a rumored launch in Japan.
Amazon has recently launched versions
of the Echo with a screen (Echo Show)
and a camera (Echo Look). Alexa hosts
third-party skills, which function much
like apps but over a voice-user interface
(VUI). They can deliver entertainment
and information, execute an action, or
enable control of other devices. Amazon
has also made Alexa available to hardware
developers as Alexa Voice Service to build
into their own products in an attempt to
stimulate the market. As an ecommerce
platform, Amazon’s strongest advantage
over its competitors in this category is
its unparalleled understanding of
consumer shopping.
GOOGLE
Google launched Home, its domestic
hardware equivalent to Echo, in the US
in 2016 and expanded into the UK in
April 2017. Google Home is currently
available for pre-order in Canada, with
launches in Australia, France, Germany
and Japan expected to follow this summer.
Home allows third parties to create
Conversation Actions, which are the
equivalent of Amazon’s skills. It is powered
byAssistant,avoiceassistantthatiscurrently
available on over 100 million devices,
including the iPhone, through the Allo
messaging platform.11
As of May 2017, Allo supports French,
Spanish, German, Hindi and Japanese
and we expect some of these languages
to expand to the Home device over time.
Irrespective of the assistant interface,
voice capabilities have been built into the
Google Search and YouTube apps since
2009. Google’s main advantage in the voice
landscape is its deep understanding of its
users through search and its range of other
services, such as Gmail.
APPLE
Apple is a voice pioneer, having launched
its voice assistant Siri in 2011. Late to
the smart speaker category, it announced
the launch of its HomePod speaker
at the Apple Worldwide Developers
Conference (WWDC) in June 2017.12
While it has integrated Siri into wearables
such as the Apple Watch and AirPods,
it is challenged by a comparative lack of
machine-learning capabilities and user data
to make a voice assistant fully intelligent,
despite its sophisticated aesthetic that
appeals to design-conscious users.
The emphasis on audio quality in the
launch of the HomePod, rather than its role
as a digital assistant, reflects this, as does
its wider strategic focus on data privacy
and security. Nevertheless, Siri’s strength is
its global reach of 36 countries and ability
to speak 21 languages.13
11. Kaluka Wanjala, “Google Assistant Is Active on 100 Million Android Devices,” TechArena, May 19, 2017, bit.ly/2qXEFbV
12. Chris Foxx, “Apple Reveals HomePod Smart Speaker,” BBC, June 5, 2017, bbc.co.uk/news/technology-40158158
13. Stephen Nellis, “Apple’s Siri Learns Shanghainese as Voice Assistants Race to Cover Languages,” Reuters, March 9, 2017, reut.rs/2mwGfzx
Apple’s HomePod is a Siri-
enabled smart speaker,
available in Australia, the United
States and the United Kingdom
from December 2017.
7

OTHER ASSISTANTS
Microsoft has developed Cortana, which
works across Windows platforms and will
be incorporated into Harman Kardon’s
Invoke smart speaker in the United States
in autumn 2017.14
Cortana is currently
available in 13 countries, speaking English,
French, Chinese (simplified), Portuguese,
German, Italian, Spanish and Japanese.
Samsung announced in March 2017 that
its voice assistant Bixby would replace
S Voice in the Galaxy S8 in South Korea.
Rumors point to an additional integration
of Viv, the artificial intelligence
built by Siri’s original developers,
which Samsung acquired in 2016,
with the aim of building voice interfaces
into all its consumer products over the
coming years. Bixby previews in the
United States in June 2017.15
Chinese search giant Baidu unveiled its
smart speaker Xiaoyu Zaijia (Little Fish
in English) at CES in January 2017.
Unlike most current devices on the
market, Little Fish features a screen and
camera. Chinese ecommerce platform
JD.com has also launched LingLong
DingDong, a home speaker that takes
design cues from the Echo, in the
region. Much like Echo and Home,
the DingDong provides access to a suite
of third-party apps or services which
must be activated before use. Although
both these devices are available only in
China, a consumer reach of one billion
makes these products significant players.
Finally, while the Facebook Messenger
digital assistant M is currently text-
based, pundits anticipate the tech giant’s
next move might be in the voice arena.
Considering its user data and its machine-
learning skills, Facebook could be
a future contender in the voice space.
14. David Pierce, “The Invoke Smart Speaker Brings Microsoft’s Cortana AI to your Living Room,” Wired, May 8, 2017, bit.ly/2q1YfoE
15. Todd Haselton, “Galaxy S8 Bixby Voice Assistant Will Launch in US Next Month, Report Says,” CNBC, May 31, 2017, cnb.cx/2qXz5qf
LingLong DingDong is
the Chinese equivalent to
Amazon Alexa, serving as
a voice-activated, cloud-
based smart speaker.
8

BEYOND ASSISTANTS
We are also witnessing a rise in voice-
activated social robots. The toy-like Sota
will act as a translator at the 2020 Tokyo
Olympics and SoftBank’s Pepper, a child-
sized robot, has been used to greet visitors
at the Hilton McLean hotel in the US
and at two Belgian hospitals. The MoRo
robot from Chinese startup Ewaybot can
be used in the home to assist with
everyday activities.
Manufacturers as diverse as Mattel and
Ford are building in voice capability to
enhance their products. Voice-activated
customer service is also becoming more
commonplace. The My Starbucks barista
skill allows customers to place orders
simply by talking into their phone.
Manually typing is slower,
especially on certain shopping
platforms. Using a voice assistant
is definitely more convenient and
I get better results
Focus group respondent, China
Voice technology is also being used to
help people in public spaces. IBM Watson
worked with the Pinacoteca de São Paulo
museum in Brazil to help people interact
with art exhibits through voice technology.16
We’re going to see coalescing
around a small number of virtual
assistants, and it’ll just make good
business sense to fit within that
ecosystem
Duncan Anderson, former chief technology officer,
IBM Watson Europe
16. IBM Brazil, “The Voice of Art with Watson,” April 13, 2017, http://bit.ly/2sKFqKT
Jibo uses voice and facial
recognition technology to
identify individual users and
sense how they are feeling.
9

Across the nine countries we surveyed,
on average 47% of smartphone users
depend on voice technology of some kind
at least once a month and 31% use it at
least weekly (see Figure 1). That equates to
almost 600 million people—more than the
populations of the United States and Brazil
combined —already engaging with this new
user interface.
A sizeable proportion (18%) say they
have only used voice technology once
or twice, reflecting some of its teething
problems. In our focus groups, a difficulty
in understanding accents, dialects and
natural speech was one of the main issues,
alongside a lack of intelligence and an
inability to understand context or complex
sentences. Despite this, only 8% say they
would never use or consider using it.
Current weekly voice users across the
nine markets are significantly more
likely to be young (38% are aged 18-34)
and male (58%), reflecting a typical early
tech adopter profile. They broadly reflect
the smartphone user profile in terms of
above-average affluence, with 39% in the
top income band.17
Voicetechnologywillinevitablybecomemore
ubiquitousastimegoesby,asthere’ssignificant
appetite for more voice-enabled devices.
More than two thirds of global smartphone
users are interested in the prospect of voice-
activated televisions (69%) and light switches
(66%), while almost half (45%) are interested
in the idea of chatting to their fridges.
JOINING THE CONVERSATION
17. The top income band equates to the highest third in each country. Income bands referenced throughout the report are aligned with GfK
Consumer Life data for all countries except Thailand, where we used Mindshare’s Mindreader.
*regular voice tech users are defined as people using voice technology at least once a week
%71 of regular voice tech users*
globally feel that speaking
to tech now comes naturally
“Manicurist” by Aleksandra
Kingo, for Curious Contraptions
for the Modern Woman editorial
in Hunger magazine, courtesy
of Aleksandra Kingo.
10

Global smartphone owners
Once or twice, ever
Once or twice
At least once a month
I have never used it and will never use it
12
18
21
49
Japan
37
38
8
17
Australia
9
28
21
42
Singapore
69
10
15 6
United
States
16
4317
24
Germany
4718
27
8
Global
Global smartphone owners: United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Australia, China, Japan, Thailand and Singapore Source: Kantar and SONARTM
VOICE TECH
UTILIZATION
18
27 2
Spain
53
37
23
28
12
United
Kingdom
4422
30 4
China
523
Thailand
13
10
13
60
Figure 1.

THE TASKS AT HAND
Voice usage can be split into two main types:
tasks carried out entirely by voice, and tasks
that are initiated by voice and completed
on screen.
Currently, tasks best suited to voice
interaction are simple enough that both
the question and response can be delivered
through this interface. Examples include
setting an alarm, playing music or asking a
question such as, “Alexa, what’s the weather
like today?” (see Figure 2).
More sophisticated exchanges may take
time. Respondents have reported a lack of
confidence in their voice assistant’s ability
to deliver perfect results, with 71% of all
regular voice tech users agreeing with the
statement: “I always need to check my
screen when using voice technology as I
don’t trust it to follow my instructions if
I only speak to it.”
As voice assistants become more intelligent
and support more complex dialogue,
opportunities for 100% voice interactions
shouldgrow.AnearlyexampleistheJohnnie
Walker skill for Alexa, which initiates a back-
and-forth conversation, posing questions to
deliver the perfect whisky recommendation.
Despite these developments, the interplay
between voice and screen is likely to remain
important. This is particularly true where
interactions involve reviewing a range of
options or seeing what a product looks like.
In an ideal world, it would be
good if all the information came
up on a chosen device like your
TV, giving you a chance to look at
similar products, prices, reviews
etc and then purchase using voice
Male 45-year-old focus group respondent, UK
We already see devices that blend voice and
a screen, such as Amazon’s Echo Show and
Baidu’s Xiaoyu Zaijia (Little Fish). In fact,
half of the smart speakers we identified
in the APAC region integrate a visual
component. The interplay between voice
and screen will add yet another dimension
to the omnichannel consumer experience.
It’s tiring to use the screen all the
time. I want to get information
without tiring my eyes
Female 50-year-old focus group
respondent, China
Amazon’s Echo Show is a
wifi-enabled home device with
a screen, allowing users to
make video calls and interact
with visual media. Echo Show
is available in the United
States from summer 2017.
12

*regular voice tech users are deﬁned as people using voice technology at least once a week
Common tasks carried out using
voice by regular voice tech users*
Global regular voice tech users
THE TASKS
AT HAND
Figure 2.
60
%
60
53
50
42
41
41
29
28
24 14Doing online searches
Playing music
Finding information on a brand or company
Asking for directions
Setting alarms
Checking travel information
Asking questions
Checking news headlines
Home management tasks
Finding information on a product I am interested in

Consumers currently prefer to use voice
in private spaces, particularly the home,
where smart speakers such as Echo and
DingDong thrive.
The car also makes a suitable venue for
voice technology, allowing drivers to multi-
task, hands-free. Already, car manufacturers
such as Ford, Volkswagen and Hyundai
have started integrating Alexa into their
vehicles. This is particularly true in
car-centric markets such as the United
States, where 65% of regular voice users
carry out voice interactions while driving,
compared to 40% globally.
There is a reluctance among many to
use voice in public spaces, particularly in
countries where speaking out loud in public
might be seen as culturally inappropriate.
In Japan, for example, 72% of regular voice
users say “I would feel too embarrassed to
use voice technology in public,” compared
to 57% globally. Spain, at only 47%,
shows the lowest level of embarrassment
at using voice in public. As a result,
Spanish people are the most likely to use
voice “while walking down the street”
(51% versus the global average of 31%).
Perhaps as we use voice more in
the home and the car, people will
start to get more used to it, and the
feeling-daft factor fades away a bit
Duncan Anderson, former chief technology officer at
IBM Watson Europe
As people become desensitized, public
usage may increase in some markets.
Voice-responsive headphones such as
Apple’s AirPods or Doppler Labs’ Here
One could prove popular by creating semi-
private interactions. Service robots and
voice-activated help devices in retail and
leisure could also help drive normalization.
I have got used to using voice in
the car, at my office and at home,
but not any other places
Female 34-year-old focus group
respondent, China
Voice assistants aren’t used in
public often. But, if more people
used them, that trend would change.
When I use mine, I get stared at
and feel uncomfortable
Focus group and online community
participant, China
PUBLIC VS. PRIVATE
Voice assistant-enabled
wireless earbuds combine
premium audio, smart noise
cancellation and speech
enhancement for a unique
listening experience. 14

DECIDING FACTORS
Across the nine markets, smartphone users
who have thus far opted out of voice
technology have ranked the key factors that
would inspire them to consider it.
They are looking for guarantees of personal
privacy, a better understanding of the impact
the service could make on their lives, and a
promise that the technology will seamlessly
integrate into their lives (see Figure 3).
Guarantees around personal data security
ranks number one in six of the nine
markets. All other countries rank it second,
although only 27% of Japanese respondents
feel this is key.
What’s more, half our global respondents
express worry about companies listening
to the conversations they have with their
voice assistant. There is significant regional
variation in levels of privacy concern,
however. Australia demonstrates a relatively
relaxed attitude (only 31% express concern),
while other countries are more privacy-
conscious (66% of Singaporean voice users
are concerned).
Yet expressing concern is not the same as
taking action. In our view, the proportion
of people who claim to be concerned about
privacy exceeds those prepared to modify
their behavior as a result.
I personally find it quite convenient
to always have [Alexa] there
listening—although that does throw
up some privacy issues for me, it’s
something I am willing to overlook
Male focus group and online
community participant, UK
Nonetheless, privacy is a key issue that won’t
go away. Developers of voice interfaces will
need to make it a priority.
Seamless integration of the service is
another top priority. Users of voice
are looking for greater integration
across platforms, devices and contexts,
picking up conversations where they left off
and building on prior understanding. This is
certainly Amazon’s goal in licensing Alexa
to third-party hardware manufacturers.
I would love the AI to be able to
keep track of the topic or subject
of the conversation, without always
having to reintroduce the subject or
topic when asking a new question
Online community participant, UK
Finally, a better grasp of the value
proposition is needed across the board.
Many potential users cannot see the
advantage voice has over touch or type,
with 29% of all non-voice users saying they
“don’t see the point.” This rises considerably
in some of the more skeptical markets,
such as the UK (48%) and Germany (39%).
Some of the teething problems with
speech recognition accuracy and the precise
language that is required by some assistants
to complete tasks are contributing to this
perception. As the technology improves,
and more examples of the positive impact
voice can make on people’s lives emerge,
adoption is likely to grow.
15

United States
United Kingdom
Germany
Spain
Australia
China Japan
Thailand
Singapore
The voice assistant could ﬁt seamlessly into their lives
%
%
70
40
30
60
50
They had more information about what a voice assistant can do
There were guarantees around their personal security
DECIDING
FACTORS
3930
43
35
34 4642
28
43 46
Global non-users of voice tech who would consider using it if:
613933
542713
574839
43 4540
544938
43
40
Figure 3.

THE
FUTURE
VOICE
CONSUMER
AS WE LOOK TOWARDS
THE FUTURE, A NUMBER
OF GLOBAL TRENDS
WILL SHAPE HOW
CONSUMERS USE AND
FEEL ABOUT VOICE.
“Everybody Scream” by Rankin, 2016, for Hunger magazine issue 11, courtesy of Rankin.

Alexa
High Mental
Activity
Correct Answer
Response
Low Mental
Activity
Text
Source: Neuro-Insight study Feb 2017; n = 102 UK smartphone users. Brain activity measured using
SST headsets; unit of measurement is radians, which equates to strength of brain response;
respondents were asked to carry out a series of tasks either speaking to Alexa or typing into an iPad.
Figure 4.
VOICE THE HUMAN BRAIN
Our research identifies efficiency as
a primary motivation for using voice.
The top three reasons for regular users
globally are “it’s convenient” (52%),
“I don’t have to type” (48%) and “it’s simple
to use” (46%).
To explore this further, we worked with
Neuro-Insight, a leading neuroscience
research agency, to investigate the brain’s
response to voice interactions, compared to
touch or typing.
We found that voice interactions showed
consistently lower levels of brain activity
than their touch equivalent. Specifically,
both left-brain and right-brain memory
encoding were lower, indicating that voice
response is less taxing than its screen-based
equivalent (see Figure 4). This supports the
idea that voice, the oldest form of human
communication, is inherently more intuitive
than any other.
In fact, 35% of global regular voice users
tell us that they use voice tech when they
are feeling lazy. This was particularly the
case in Germany (45%), the United States
(44%), and China (43%), where consumers
value respite from the pace of everyday life.
With only one word, ‘mornings,’
DingDong will automatically update
me with the weather and the news
Male 27-year-old focus group respondent, China
EASING THE COGNITIVE LOAD
CONSUMERS WILL EMBRACE VOICE AS A LESS MENTALLY
TAXING FORM OF INTERACTION.
18

The voice-enabled iTranslate
dictionary and translation app
allows users to read, write and even
start voice conversations in more
than 90 languages.
Some companies are already tapping into
the human bias towards voice. Travel app
HelloGbye, which in November 2016
launched a partnership with American
Express, allows users to dictate their dates
of travel, destination and the number of
people with whom they are travelling to
generate a suitable list of flight and hotel
options. As with most voice-activated
services, this saves time and offers users an
effortless, streamlined experience. These
are some of the key benefits of voice
described by our focus groups.
DingDong is simple, fast and
convenient—perfect for lazy
people like me!
Female 29-year-old focus group respondent, China
Baidu’s TalkType keyboard app in China
prioritizes voice over typing when it comes
to messaging. While the app still features
a keyboard, the default option is voice.
In countries where written language is
character-based rather than alphabet-
based, messaging can be particularly
time-consuming as thousands of graphic
characters must be recreated in phonetic
characters. This makes the ease of voice
interaction especially appealing.
FrictionlessexperiencesapplyoutsidetheB2C
context too: Beijing-based Unisound provides
medical cloud services that allow doctors to
use voice to create records, potentially saving
them up to two hours per day.
Indeed, we found that 51% of regular voice
users in China use it because they don’t have
to type. This motivation was even stronger
in Japan (57%) and Thailand (54%).
We believe that the relative ease of voice
interactionwillmakeitincreasinglyattractive
to consumers throughout the world,
particularly those feeling overwhelmed by
technology.
19

WHY VOICE
TECHNOLOGY?
Just for fun
My phone is out of reach
I’m walking
I’m in a rush
I’m driving
My hands are dirty
My hands are full
I’m feeling lazy
It is faster to use
Global smartphone owners
who have ever used voice
Global regular voice
tech users*
Figure 5.
Source: Kantar and SONARTM
*regular voice tech users are deﬁned as people using voice technology at least once a week

THE DIGITAL BUTLER
VOICE ASSISTANTS WILL TAKE A MORE PROACTIVE
ROLE IN MANAGING OUR LIVES.
As voice assistants get smarter, they have
the potential to evolve into proactive
services, making useful recommendations
and even managing choice on behalf of
their users. In effect, they will become
the “digital butler” or “pocket concierge”
that helps us at every turn.
Both Google and Amazon have taken
a step on this path already, launching
proactive notifications for their Home and
Alexa devices respectively. For example,
Google Home will now light up when it
has something to say, such as a reminder of
an upcoming appointment or news about
a traffic delay. Amazon is going one step
further by offering developers the option
to integrate this feature into their skills
in the future.
This is something that consumers seem to
want: 39% of all smartphone users globally
say they are excited about the prospect that
“my voice assistant will anticipate what I
need and take actions or make suggestions.”
This is particularly strong in Asian markets
that are rapidly embracing voice, such as
China (64%) and Thailand (57%).
Duer is very smart. When my
wife asked if she can wear a skirt,
it said, ‘Yes, today is warm enough
to wear a skirt.’ It helps to make
decisions directly
Male 40-year-old focus group
respondent, China
The ELLI•Q™ active aging companioin
helps users navigate the complexities
of the digital world, keeping them
entertained through online games
and connected to friends and family
with video chats. 21

Baidu’s voice assistant Duer makes suggestions based on
past purchases. In Germany, users trust personal assistant
app Mia to organize all aspects of their professional lives,
while users in Australia rely on the artificially intelligent
business advisor BRiN to solve complex business problems
on their behalf. Apple’s newly launched watchOS 4,
debuted in June 2017, features a proactive Siri watch
face which updates dynamically throughout the day to
display helpful personalized updates such as upcoming
appointments, weather alerts or traffic information.
While some choice will most likely always be important to
consumers across many scenarios, the process of narrowing
down choice is a useful service that digital assistants can offer.
Voice assistant developers must consider how much variety
to suggest (and serendipity to introduce) when delivering
recommendations, and when it’s appropriate to make the
decision on the user’s behalf, such as a repeat purchase.
What’s more, providers need to earn trust through a track
record of successful service before dependency can grow.
They also need to alleviate users’ privacy concerns and
demonstrate responsibility with the personal data needed
to make meaningful suggestions.
As one UK focus group participant explains, “You can
build trust by, hopefully, making sure no one’s ripped off
while giving them access to do amazing things.”
For brands, the key challenge will be to ensure that they
are recommended by the “digital butler” ahead of their
competitors—a topic explored further in the Brand Futures
section of this report.
45 of potential voice users globally say
they would be encouraged to use voice
if there were “guarantees around my
personal data security”
%
Laundrapp, a laundry pick-up and
delivery service, has developed an
Alexa skill to make the process
more convenient for users. 22

%
Xperia Ear is an in-ear,
voice-controlled personal assistant
created by Sony. The device provides
social media updates as well as
information about missed calls
and calendar appointments.
VOICE WILL FREE US UP TO INTERACT BETTER WITH
THE WORLD AROUND US.
LIBERATION FROM THE SCREEN
Voice technology could be the key to
liberating users from the omnipresent screen.
Withnoneedfortypingandswiping,imagine
how heads will shift their focus upwards
away from the screen. Voice will allow us to
get reacquainted with the real world around
us. This presents brands with exciting
opportunities to engage their audiences.
Outside the home, in-ear “hearables” such
as Sony’s Xperia Ear allow users to enjoy
voice tech hands-free while out and about.
Apple Airpods and Motorola’s Moto Hint let
users leave their phone in their bag or pocket
and control their smartphones by voice.
In this way, voice could even improve
human interactions.
53of global smartphone users
think “voice technology will
help people interact more
with each other as they
won’t be always looking
down at a screen”
This view is particularly strong in China,
where 78% agree.
23

%
The Apple watchOS 4 features
a Siri-enabled watch face that
proactively sends notifications.
Of course, liberation from the screen is
unlikely to be absolute. The launch of the
Echo Show and the prevalence of screen-
based smart speakers in Asia are testament
to the need for supporting visuals on
certain occasions. But as augmented and
mixed reality go mainstream, this need may
fall by the wayside.
69 of global smartphone users
agree that “it would be
much easier if technology
could speak back to me”
You can keep hands free and
carry on doing what you’re doing.
Even walking here actually, today,
I wasn’t sure where we were so I just
asked [my phone’s voice assistant]
for directions. It took me here and
then said, when I was outside the
door…‘You are now here’
Focus group respondent, UK
For brands, the challenge will be twofold.
First, they will need to ensure that services
or content can be easily accessed through
voice in a simple and engaging manner.
Second, they will need to think how they can
capture the attention of consumers through
content accessible in the Internet of Things.
24

As advances in machine learning continue,
voice assistants will become far better
equipped to understand their users. As this
understanding deepens, we expect people to
grow closer to their assistants.
We already see a consumer appetite for
voice assistants to be able to understand
them more fully.
73 of global smartphone
users agree that “if voice
assistants could understand
me properly and speak
back to me as well as a
human can, I’d use them
all the time”
At present, voice technology typically
struggles to grasp language subtleties,
regional accents and context. It also has
difficuties remembering past behavior and
preferences. More often than not it speaks
with a voice that is fairly robotic, with
little personality. As a result, emotional
attachment to voice assistants is currently
limited. Our neuroscience experiments
found that the emotional response to voice
assistants is considerably lower than the
response to either a face-to-face human
interaction or a touch or text interface.
Yet the emotional response to Alexa grew
during the course of our experiments as
people became more comfortable using
it (see Figure 6), pointing to the potential
for a closer relationship. What’s more,
when people asked a question involving a
brand name, their brain activity showed a
significantly stronger emotional response
compared to people typing that same brand
question (see Figure 7).
This is borne out further by some of the
early adopters of voice, for whom a deeper
emotional attachment is starting to develop.
CRAVING INTIMACY
VOICE USERS WILL DEVELOP STRONG EMOTIONAL
CONNECTIONS TO THEIR VIRTUAL ASSISTANTS.
%
“Jump to It” with Winnie Harlow by
Rankin, for Hunger magazine issue 11. 25

00
0.5+
Radians
Alexa Text
-0.5 0.5+-0.5
Source: Neuro-Insight study Feb 2017; n = 102 UK smartphone users. Brain activity measured
using SST headsets; unit of measurement is radians, which equates to positivity of brain response
0.17
0.09
-0.33 0.26
First Question
All Questions
Figure 6.
EMOTIONAL RESPONSE
BY QUESTION
Globally, almost half (43%) of regular voice
technology users say that they love their
voice assistant so much they wish it were a
real person. This is particularly true in the
markets that enthusiastically embrace voice,
such as China (65%) and Thailand (61%).
Even more astonishing is that more than a
quarter (29%) of global regular voice users
say they have had a sexual fantasy about
their voice assistant.
It is interesting, when something
acts naturally and human back to
you, how much we imbue it with
sentience, with human personality
Martin Reddy, cofounder and chief technology
officer, PullString
While extreme, this points to an
anthropomorphization of the voice
assistant, chiming with the 69% of regular
voice technology users globally who say
“I want to feel like I’m talking to a real
human when I talk to my voice assistant.”
Gatebox, a Japanese device akin to the
Echo, gives an indication of how this
could develop. It contains Azuma Hikari,
a three-inch holographic girl. Capable of
recognizing the user’s face and voice, she is
designed to be a home companion.
You find yourself saying ‘please’
and ‘thank you’ to [Alexa]
Male 45-year-old focus group respondent, UK
For brands, the opportunity will be to use
voice effectively to foster an ever-closer
relationship with their consumers. At the
same time, we can expect voice assistants to
become increasingly powerful gatekeepers
to the consumer.
It should be able to sense my
emotion, tell me some jokes when
I am in a good mood and comfort
me when I am upset
Male 28-year-old focus group
respondent, China
26

BRAND
FUTURES
AS VOICE BECOMES AN
INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT
MODE OF BRAND-CONSUMER
INTERACTION, WHAT WILL
IT MEAN FOR BRANDS?
WE’VE IDENTIFIED FIVE
KEY THEMES THAT BRANDS
NEED TO CONSIDER IF THEY
ARE TO THRIVE IN A
VOICE-ACTIVATED
WORLD.
“Joke’s on You” by Daniel Thomas Smith,
2016, for Hunger magazine issue 11,
courtesy of Daniel Thomas Smith.

18. Chris Welch, “Google Home is Playing Audio Ads for Beauty and the Beast,” The Verge, March 16, 2017, bit.ly/2rL0iAy
19. VoiceLabs, “The 2017 Voice Report,” January 15, 2017, bit.ly/2jJlyk7
20. Finbarr Toesland, “Voice Search and Chatbots Are Transforming Commerce”, Raconteur, September 8, 2016, bit.ly/2mIu4iT
$2billion of sales were forecast
to be driven by digital
assistants in 2016 alone.20
GRAPPLING WITH THE VOICE GATEKEEPERS
It seems unlikely that the interruptive
model of paid advertising will translate
easily to voice, as users demand a more
streamlined experience.
Google Home customers in the United
States kicked up a fuss when Google
Assistant gave out unsolicited information
about a new Disney film.18
Google quickly
removed the ad.
I think the reality is that we’re just
not interested in advertising—it’s a
very different world. I don’t want
to talk to my device and then it
gives me an advert for five minutes.
That’s just never going to work
Duncan Anderson, former chief technology officer,
IBM Watson Europe
With the future of traditional advertising
in doubt, brands can reach consumers
over a VUI by building services for Echo,
Home or DingDong. While these services
offer companies the opportunity to create
a branded experience over the platform,
they hold limited promise for direct
consumer engagement in the future.
There has been limited uptake by users
thus far. According to a 2017 report from
VoiceLabs, there are more than 7,000 skills
on the Alexa platform but only 31% of
these have more than one customer review,
suggesting the majority of applications
aren’t being downloaded.19
Users dislike
the particular commands required to make
the skills function properly. What’s more,
the technology is currently not able to
deliver a unique voice that’s also interactive,
giving brands little scope to differentiate
themselves from the voice assistant
(as well as from their competitors).
Some skills stand out, such as the Uber
skill, which allows Alexa users in the United
States, United Kingdom and Germany to
order and cancel rides or to check a request
status. Uber has a loyal following and
those using voice want to order from Uber
particularly, rather than any taxi service the
voice assistant might choose. But many
situations don’t require a branded solution,
nor do users think in these terms. Instead,
they have a problem, such as a grease
stain on their clothes, and they want the
voice assistant to tell them how to remove
it before going back out to their dinner
party. No one has the time or inclination
to follow the steps to activate the Tide
stain-removal skill specifically, for example.
Any dependable advice will do.
ADVERTISERS WILL NEED TO REAPPRAISE RELATIONSHIPS
WITH VOICE ASSISTANT PROVIDERS AS VUIS STRENGTHEN
THEIR ROLE AS CONSUMER GATEKEEPERS.
Google Home, a voice-activated speaker
connected to Google Assistant, allows
the user to ask questions and control
their smart home.
28

Joseph Evans, senior research analyst at
Enders Analysis, predicts, “You’ll have a
layer of skills by developers and they will
present themselves to the Alexa central
level, saying, ‘I can do X, I can do Y,
I can do Z.’ And then when you have a
user request, Alexa will do some kind of
machine learning and say, ‘Okay, what they
said means that they want Y,’ right?” The
user will not interact with the brand directly.
There’s a pretty good argument…
that the people who put these
devices in your home seek to own
the market because they own the
habit
Nir Eyal, bestselling author and lecturer at
Stanford University
With these services likely to recede into the
background of the overall voice assistant
experience, and with the interruptive ad
model being questioned, brands face a
future in which a few key VUI providers
act as gatekeepers to consumers, who rely
on their voice assistant to deliver solutions
to their problems and to purchase products
on their behalf.
Amazon has developed
the Echo Look, an Alexa-
powered camera that
takes fashion photos
and videos.
29

RECOMMENDATION AND ALGORITHM OPTIMIZATION
While we have seen many smart speakers
with integrated visual interfaces,
voice technology works best when there’s
only one answer, according to 80% of
global regular voice technology users.
As the market for voice technology
matures, brands may have to pursue a
number of strategies to ensure that voice
assistants surface their brand as that
single result. Currently, there’s still much
debate about how this may play out.
Here we consider three possibilities: paid
recommendations, the affiliate model and
algorithm optimization.
In some circumstances it may be possible
for a voice assistant to offer a “paid
recommendation” to a user. For instance,
asking Alexa to buy more washing powder
could lead to the (paid) suggestion of an
alternative offer. The key to this model’s
success will be user trust that the suggestion
is right for them and not just lucrative
for the voice assistant provider.
When there are many [options],
you don’t want to hear them all,
nor can you remember
Female 34-year-old focus group respondent, China
An alternative might be an affiliate model,
similar to price comparison services today.
The voice assistant could deliver a single
recommendation in response to a query and
then take a commission on a subsequent
lead or sale. As of now, this approach does
appear to be palatable, with 57% of regular
voice users saying, “I don’t mind if [a local
voice assistant] takes a commission from a
purchase made by voice as long as the deal is
good for me.” In this scenario, brands that
are positively reviewed by journalists and
other social influencers will improve their
chances of being recommended by the VA.
A third option gaining traction is “assistant
optimization,” also known as “algorithm
optimization.” Much as with search engine
optimization (SEO), businesses will be able
to affect the likelihood of the voice assistant
recommending their brands through the
structure of their digital content assets.
In a voice-enabled world, ensuring your
content is chosen by the assistant will
become ever more critical.
A KEY CHALLENGE IN A WORLD INTERMEDIATED
BY VOICE ASSISTANTS WILL BE ENSURING YOUR
BRAND OR CONTENT IS CHOSEN BY THE ASSISTANT.
ALGORITHM OPTIMIZATION WILL BECOME THE NEW SEO.
“Hypothetisches
Gebilde” by Alicja
Kwade, 2016, featured
by 303 Gallery as part
of Frieze London 2016.
30

JOIN THE INTERNET OF THINGS
BRANDS SHOULD CONSIDER ADDING VOICE
INTERACTIVITY AS AND WHEN THESE CAPABILITIES
EXPAND TO NEW DEVICES.
Voice technology is moving rapidly
beyond mobile phones and smart speakers.
Alexa has already been built into dozens of
smart devices.
Social robots around the world such as
Olly, Jibo, RoBoHoN and Musio are an
alternativetosmartspeakers.Voice-activated
products such as the kids’ digital storybook
The Snow Fox or the controversial My
Friend Cayla doll offer a more interactive
and enriching experience than their basic
equivalents. Meanwhile, the number of
commercial settings that integrate voice-
activated services is growing. In hospitality,
a team of robots at the Henn-na hotel in
Japan checks in guests and offers concierge
services, while the JW Marriott San Antonio
in the United States is piloting the Echo Dot
in its hotel rooms. The Dot will provide
guests with information about restaurants,
room service and directions.
Brands need to think about how they can
make their own physical assets voice-
enabled, whether through the integration
of a voice assistant like Alexa, or their
own voice technology. For retailers,
this could include embedding voice
assistants in display units or changing rooms.
We found that 52% of global smartphone
users already want a voice assistant that can
communicate with the store, for example
to help them to navigate and to find
products more easily.
Connected packaging also presents an
opportunity. Two thirds (67%) of global
smartphone users agree with the statement
“I like the idea of being able to ask my
products questions about their provenance.”
At CES 2017, we saw the launch of talking
packaging in the form of Cambridge
Consultants’ AudioPack concept for drugs
and medical devices.
Voice-controlled
cooking appliance
SmartyPans gives
step-by-step
instructions based
on real-time feedback
from weight and
temperature sensors.
31

Media themselves are increasingly likely
to become voice-enabled. Using voice,
consumers will be able to engage as and
when they want with services such as
Instreamatic.AI, which is an interactive
audio platform that allows advertisers to
create voice-enabled audio ads. Audio is
also being made searchable. Israeli company
Audioburst records radio shows and
transcribes soundbites called “bursts.” This
content can then be tagged with keywords
and discovered online and via Alexa.
As the TV becomes voice-enabled (Alexa
is now built into the latest Amazon Fire
stick; Google Home allows users to play
video on their TVs through Chromecast
using voice command), viewers may also
use their voice assistants to interact with TV
advertisers. Sky has also recently integrated
voice recognition into its remote. Deutsche
Telekom and Orange are collaborating on
a smart assistant called Djingo, which will
allow people to use voice to control their
Orange TVs throughout Europe, the Middle
East and Africa when it launches in 2018.
As brands turn to voice, they will start to
amass an audio dataset that will present
opportunities to glean considerable insight
via voice analytics. What can you learn about
your customers from their tone of voice
and how they talk to you? Can you apply
sentiment analysis to the voice recordings
to understand how customers feel?
What’s more, brands that build their own
voice-enabled products and content can
position themselves outside the voice
gatekeeper ecosystem and take one
step closer to winning back control of
consumer engagement.
You have to be able to offer people
something which makes it worth
their while to actually interact with
you… and those who are able to do
that will actually do it well
Joseph Evans, senior research analyst,
Enders Analysis
32
The Forty Part Motet by Janet Cardiff
showcases 40 separately recorded
voices, each with its own speaker.
Photo: Atsushi Nakamichi/Nacása
Partners Inc. Courtesy of the
Fondation d’entreprise Hermès, 2009

ARE YOU BEING SERVED?
BRANDS THAT DEVELOP USEFUL CONTENT CAN
MEANINGFULLY ENGAGE WITH THEIR CONSUMERS
VIA A NEW CHANNEL.
The question for brands should be:
if tomorrow you had a seamless way
to talk to your product … would that
save the customer steps?
Nir Eyal, bestselling author and lecturer at
Stanford University
There are two routes a brand can take
when developing a one-to-one experience.
One is to build a chatbot for a messaging
platform such as Facebook Messenger,
WeChat, Line or Kik. Brands should be
thinking about the circumstances in which
chatbots can be voice-enabled. It is possible
to envisage successful text-based chatbots
delivering an even more flexible experience
for customers by adding voice capabilities.
Already Microsoft’s Xiaoice, which has more
than 40 million users in China and Japan,
has launched as a voice-enabled chatbot
on WeChat.21
The second route to consider is creating
a skill, Conversation Action, or DingDong
service.Whencontemplatingthisinvestment,
brands must first decide what the software
will accomplish. The characteristics of
some of the early examples of successful
skills for Alexa are rooted in their simplicity
and ability to offer real value in a natural,
straightforward way. A user who activates the
BMW skill can ask Alexa about a scheduled
trip, find out what time to leave, and send the
destination to the vehicle. Amsterdam-based
Triggi’s Alexa skill allows users to control
Nest, Netatmo, Philips Hue and other
smart devices, intending to “make smart
things smarter.”
Services that reduce friction in people’s lives
are likely to appeal to the 52% of regular
voice users globally who cite convenience
as one of the main reasons for using voice
technology. Ultimately, voice platforms
must understand the needs of the user and
deliver on these through a process that is
simple and intuitive.
Amazon made us boil down our
original ideas to the simplest
possible concept—which is what
you’ve got to do when you’re
designing for voice
Michael Hill, founder and MD, Radioplayer
21. Jerry Salandra, “China, WeChat and the Origins of Chatbots,” Chatbots Magazine, March 12, 2017, bit.ly/2qTEQK9
Softserve is bringing voice technology
to the workplace with the VoiceMyBot
skill for Alexa, which allows users to
stay in touch with their colleagues
via the HipChat group chat tool.
33

FIND YOUR VOICE
BRANDS CAN STRENGTHEN CONSUMER RELATIONSHIPS
BY DEFINING THEIR (LITERAL) VOICES.
Our neuroscience research gives an early
indication that speaking to a brand delivers
a deeper emotional connection than
interacting with it through type or touch.
When people asked a question involving a
brand name, their brain activity showed a
significantly stronger emotional response
compared to people typing that same brand
question (see Figure 7). The act of saying a
brand name appears to strengthen the pre-
existing emotional associations to a greater
degree than typing it. This emphasizes the
need for brands to craft the sound of their
own voices.
Companies will now need to think
about the actual voice of their
brand … They have to think about
how their brand sounds, and the
words and language that their brand
uses when communicating with
customers … the personality of their
brand as it’s presented to users
Martin Reddy, cofounder and chief technology
officer, PullString
Consumers are already looking for greater
variety in voices. Just under three quarters
(74%) of regular voice technology users
globally believe brands should have unique
voices and personalities for their apps
or skills, and not just use the assistant
on smartphones.
Some of the early skill pioneers have
started to use different voices to reflect the
service they offer. The BBC News skill,
for example, uses a pre-recorded presenter’s
voice. Eighth Note, a voice-activated
version of the smartphone game Flappy
Bird, which originated in China, takes a
different approach. The game character’s
movement is controlled by the volume of
the user’s voice, illustrating how the brand
has considered the player’s voice rather
than its own, to achieve engagement.
Eighth Note has gone viral in Asia, where
Chinese YouTube personality Jing Jing has
accumulated 6.5 million views on a video
of herself playing the game.
The smart and energy-efficient Philips
Hue lights can now be controlled by
Siri via Apple HomeKit technology.
34

%
In time, we will see more personality,
beyond the sound and tone of the voice,
once AI capabilities allow responses to be
truly interactive and adaptable.
62 of regular voice technology
users globally agree with the
statement “I like the idea of
being able to give my voice
assistant a celebrity’s voice”
Our research has shown that people have
strong preconceived notions about what
a brand should sound like—globally 62%
of smartphone users say their voices and
personalities should be unique. Hit the
right notes and you can be music to your
customers’ ears.
A voice assistant would be like
a friend, with a voice that’s male,
like [Taiwanese singer, actor and
racing driver] Jimmy Lin’s: friendly
and gentle. This would be better
than a calm, computerised voice
Male 29-year-old focus group respondent, China
Text Voice
Radians
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1.0
0
0.32
0.64
Source: Neuro-Insight study Feb 2017; n = 102 UK smartphone users.
Brain activity measured using SST headsets; unit of measurement is radians,
which equates to positivity of brain response to speciﬁc* requests for brands
Figure 7.
EMOTIONAL RESPONSE
TO BRANDED QUESTIONS
35

SHORT-TERM BRAND IMPLICATIONS
WHAT MARKETERS CAN DO TO PREPARE FOR A
VOICE-ACTIVATED WORLD IN THE SHORT TERM
Consider how voice could
genuinely augment the
touchpoints on your
consumer journey.
How could a voice interaction
add value to or remove friction
from the consumer experience?
Identify your consumers’
Deciding Factors
What are the cultural and
technological sticking points in
your market that must be handled
carefully in order to launch your
voice proposition successfully?
Review whether your search
activity is optimized for voice.
Does your keyword strategy
capitalize on the long tail of
conversational search terms?
1 3
Experiment with voice-user
interfaces.
Test and learn, for example
through an Alexa skill or a
DingDong trial. Explore how
you can provide utility to your
customers or drive new behaviors.
4
5
Learn the rules of engagement
in conversational commerce.
Build a chatbot and deepen
your exposure to the types of
conversations consumers want
to have.
2
36

LONG-TERM BRAND IMPLICATIONS
WHAT MARKETERS CAN DO TO PREPARE FOR A
VOICE-ACTIVATED WORLD IN THE MEDIUM TO LONG TERM
Enhance your privacy
credentials.
Review and develop your personal
data privacy policies to reflect local
market concerns, as attitudes to
privacy in relation to voice vary
considerably by market.
Position yourself as the brand to
trust wherever you do business.
See what you can learn from
how customers talk to your
brand.
Try using voice-analytics software
to detect how your customers
really feel.
1 3 Forge strategic partnerships
for voice integration.
Work with retailers and service
businesses to distribute your
voice-activated products and
services into their environments.
5
Re-evaluate your PR efforts.
Getting your brands recommended
by respected journalists and other
thought leaders could be your best
bet for staying relevant in the era
of voice and the affiliate model.
Use radio or interactive
audio ads to develop your
brand’s voice.
What do people want to hear when
they speak directly to your brand?
4
2
37

MARKET
USAGE
The L.U.C.Y. home assistant, which helps
around the house, combines voice and
facial recognition technology with a
high-definition screen.

%
%
%
With smart speakers yet to launch in Australia,
most users’ experience of voice comes from customer
service lines, search and Siri. In common with other
technologies in Australia, voice has generated widespread
interest, but it has seen slower adoption rates than in
other Asia-Pacific markets. Launching in summer 2017,
Google Home is likely to drive further adoption of
voice in the Australian market.
THE VOICE
LANDSCAPE
Australia is yet to see the
full array of voice services
arrive in its market.
The Google voice-
search funtionality
entered the market
in 2009, followed
by Siri.
The market also includes
some early adopters, who
purchased Amazon Echo
from overseas.
MY
GRANDMOTHER’S
LINGO
This voice-activated online game
tells the story of Angela Joshua,
a young Aboriginal woman seeking
to preserve her indigenous
language. To unlock chapters
in Angela’s story, users have to
repeat phrases in her endangered
language. The game uses voice
to educate Australians about
threatened indigenous languages,
breathing life into the culture and
using voice as a storytelling tool.
My Grandmother’s Lingo
PREFERRED
PLATFORMS
UTILIZATION
In Australia, the utilization of
voice-assistant technology is
lower than the global average.
Consideration of use is high,
but there is currently a lack
of awareness of the benefits:
36% don’t see the point of
using voice technology, and 28%
don’t expect it to be any quicker.
Australia is polarised between
a subset that is interested in
technology, and a mainstream
majority that lags in awareness
and adoption of it.
50% 1510 20 3025 35 40
I haven’t used voice technology
and I will never use it
I haven’t used voice technology,
but will consider using it in the future
I have used voice technology
only once or twice
I use voice technology
at least once a month
at least once a week
Global
Australia
UTILIZATION OF VOICE TECHNOLOGY (% OF SMARTPHONE
USERS IN AUSTRALIA VS. GLOBAL AVERAGE)
WEEKLY VOICE USERS
DEMOGRAPHICS
54
63
51
AUSTRALIA
VOICE
PROFILE
Google Now/Google
Assistant
I’m driving
35-54
REASONS
AUSTRALIANS
USE VOICE
TECHNOLOGY
33
22
11 Siri
It’s faster to use
Google Search app
Just for fun
HIGH
39

50% 1510 20 3025 35 40 45 50 55 60
Doing online searches
Asking questions
Finding information on a product
in which I am interested
Ask for directions
Asking a fun question
Making a call
Reminding myself to buy a
product I need or want
Finding information on
a brand or company
Asking for the weather forecast
Playing music
Global
Australia
THE TASKS AT HAND—USAGE OF VOICE TECHNOLOGY
(% OF REGULAR VOICE USERS IN AUSTRALIA VS. GLOBAL AVERAGE)
LOCAL BRAND TAKEAWAYS
HIGHLIGHT THE VALUE Australians are more laissez-faire than other
nationalities about privacy issues, so focus on communicating the value that
your voice service brings, rather than its privacy credentials.
RATIONAL FUNCTIONAL The Australian relationship with technology
is very rational, so brands should look to communicate the utility that their
voice services can offer.
EMPHASIZE THE CONVENIENCE OF VOICE Australians know that other
markets are more advanced than theirs in terms of the convenience of digital
services, so show how voice can raise the bar.
BRiN is a smartphone app that uses
artiﬁcal intelligence to understand
business problems and provide smart
solutions. While BRiN can’t make
decisions for us, it can steer us in the
right direction and impact business
decision making. In the future,
apps like these may even act
on our behalf.
BRiN
WHAT DO PEOPLE
USE VOICE FOR?
All uses of voice technology
by Australians are below
the global average, which
highlights the extent to which
voice is still in its comparative
%86OF REGULAR VOICE
USERS LIKE THE IDEA
OF BEING ABLE TO
CHANGE THE GENDER
OF THEIR VOICE
ASSISTANT
infancy. The main usage is
online search (42%), but
penetration is a lot lower than
the global average. Many
Australians are culturally
resistant to over-reliance
on technology. As a result,
voice usage is mainly about
BRiN
basic features such as asking
questions (41%) and asking
for directions (35%). Lower
utilization levels may reflect
the fact that voice assistants are
not attuned to the Australian
accent, which can affect the
accuracy of their responses.

%
%
%
China currently has the highest number of voice
technology services in the East. Chinese consumers
are familiar with voice technology and enjoy its
convenience benefits, particularly in contrast to
typing Chinese phonetic characters. Local brands such
as Xiaomi, Baidu and Xunfei have developed
affordable and multifunctional voice-assistance
services for the smart home. These services are
highly aspirational for Chinese consumers with
fast-paced lifestyles. Most strikingly, Chinese
consumers show a particularly high inclination to
attribute human-like qualities to their voice assistants.
THE VOICE
LANDSCAPE
Voice assistance technology
has been available in China for
almost a decade. Google voice-
search functionality arrived in
2009, followed by Siri in 2011.
Incomprehension of regional
dialects and the complexity of
the Mandarin language have
resulted in voice technology not
quite meeting the expectations
of users—yet. The launch
of LingLong DingDong in
2015, which claims better
comprehension levels, could
PREFERRED
PLATFORMS
UTILIZATION
Weekly use of voice technology
in China is 31%, mirroring
the global average. There also
appears to be a strong appetite
for voice, with only 4% saying
they will never use it. This no
doubt reflects the frustrations
many Chinese consumers feel
with typing Chinese phonetic
characters, as evidenced in the
widespread use of WeChat’s
voice to text service. Of those
considering using it in the future,
61% say they would be more
inclined if personal data
security were guaranteed.
50% 1510 20 3025 35
I use voice technology at
least once a week
I have only used voice
technology once or twice
Global
China
UTILIZATION OF VOICE TECHNOLOGY
(% OF SMARTPHONE USERS IN CHINA VS. GLOBAL AVERAGE)
WEEKLY VOICE USERS
DEMOGRAPHICS
62
53
50
CHINA VOICE
PROFILE
35-54
REASONS CHINESE
USE VOICE
TECHNOLOGY
Voice feature in search
engine (e.g., Baidu)
It’s simple to use
Siri
I don’t have to type
Cortana
It’s convenient
3
3
2
2
1
1
HIGH¥
I LIKE MY DUER SO
MUCH THAT I WISH
A REAL ROBOT
INSTEAD OF JUST
A VIRTUAL VOICE!
I COULD HAVE
Male 40-year-old focus
group correspondent, China
improve uptake. DingDong’s
arrival, alongside Xiaoyu
Zaihia/Little Fish, has made
the voice landscape
more diverse.
TALKTYPE
Baidu’s TalkType keyboard app
prioritizes voice over typing when
it comes to messaging. While the
app still features a keyboard,
the default option is to use your
voice. This is the first keyboard
app of its kind, illustrating the
move towards a voice-first world.
TalkType
41

(% OF REGULAR VOICE USERS IN CHINA VS. GLOBAL AVERAGE)
MAKE IT HUMAN More than in any other market, Chinese consumers want
their voice assistants to be “human.” Brands can stand out by developing unique,
personable voice applications that take a proactive role in their users’ lives.
IDENTIFY THE VOICE VALUE EXCHANGE Chinese consumers are
willing to trade privacy and personal history for a more tailored service.
Work out what value you can offer in exchange for voice data capture.
USE VOICE TO AS AN ASPIRATIONAL SYMBOL Endorsed by many
technology and home appliance brands, voice is accepted as part of the modern
and smart lifestyle to which modern Chinese aspire. By building a sophisticated
voice application, brands can signal their own modernity.
WHAT DO PEOPLE
USE VOICE FOR?
Compared to the global
average, use of voice in China
is higher across most activities.
Investigating product information
and online search are most used
and are driven by the busy and
fast-paced lifestyles of Chinese
consumers. Voice usage is also
important when it comes to
leisure—it’s mainly used just
for fun and for playing music.
%96OF REGULAR VOICE
USERS LIKE THE IDEA
OF BEING ABLE TO
CUSTOMIZE THEIR VOICE
ASSISTANT’S PERSONALITY
TO SUIT THEIR OWN VOICE
50% 1510 20 3025 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70
Making a call
Playing audio books
Asking questions
Reminding myself to buy
a product I need or want
a brand or company
Finding information on a
product in which I am interested
Playing music
Global
China
LINGLONG
DINGDONG
The DingDong is China’s answer
to the Amazon Echo—a cloud-
based, voice-activated smart
speaker that can play music,
organize schedules, give directions
and answer questions about the
weather and news. Created by
iFlytek and JD.com, the device
comes in Mandarin and Cantonese
variants, and can understand a range
of Chinese accents and dialects. It
understands an estimated 95% of
the population.
LingLong DingDong

%
%
%
Despite being one of only two European markets
in which the Amazon Echo is available, the German
adoption of voice is slightly less enthusiastic than
the global average. With a focus on using voice
for efficiency and simplicity, and higher levels of
skepticism and privacy concerns, German consumers
are waiting for more appealing and reliable reasons
to use before embracing voice wholeheartedly.
THE VOICE
LANDSCAPE
Voice technology arrived in
Germany with Google voice-
search functionality in 2009.
Cortana and Amazon
Alexa entered the
market in 2016 and
this year Djingo launched in
April. The launch of Google
Home and Allo have been
announced for summer 2017.
MYKIE
Mykie is a smart speaker sous
chef created by Stuttgart-based
engineering and electronics
company Bosch. Users can ask the
desktop bot general questions about
the weather and search for recipes
using their voice. The device comes
with a projector, allowing users to
project recipes and cooking videos
onto the walls of their kitchen to
guide them. Mykie will also be able
to connect to Bosch appliances in
the future. While the device made
an appearance at CES 2017,
Bosch is still developing the product
and no release date has officially
been announced.
PREFERRED
PLATFORMS
UTILIZATION
While the proportion of
people who have used voice
ever is similar to the global
average, Germany has fewer
regular weekly users (23%
vs. 31%). There is skepticism
about voice technology,
which is reflected in the fact
that twice as many Germans
think they will never use voice
compared to the global average,
and 39% of non-users say they
don’t see the point of using it.
50% 1510 20 3025 35
only once or twice
Global
Germany
(% OF SMARTPHONE USERS IN GERMANY VS. GLOBAL AVERAGE)
WEEKLY VOICE USERS
DEMOGRAPHICS
45
63
51
GERMANY
VOICE
PROFILE
18-34
REASONS
GERMANS
USE VOICE
TECHNOLOGY
Google Search app
It’s faster to use
Siri
Just for fun
3
3
2
2
1
1
Google Now/Google
Assistant/Cortana
Feeling lazy
HIGH€Mykie
43

(% OF REGULAR VOICE USERS IN GERMANY VS. GLOBAL AVERAGE)
USE VOICE BEYOND THE SMARTPHONE Consumers frequently complain
about the smartphone and how it has made people less sociable. Use voice to
liberate people from their screens through voice activations in the physical world.
KEEP THE PERSONALITY STRAIGHTFORWARD Germans don’t think
adding personality to voice technology would offer any substantial value.
Make utility your first priority.
FOCUS ON EFFICIENCY Use voice to help consumers achieve a task more
efficiently, as Germans primarily use voice technology when it simplifies things
and makes life easier.
L.U.C.Y. is a smart home assistant that
incorporates voice-control technology
with a camera and touchscreen display.
These added features provide a wider
service and usability than most other
home assistants. The HD camera can
even recognize faces and serve every
family member according to their own
preferences, illustrating the direction
voice is heading with personalization.
L.U.C.Y.
WHAT DO PEOPLE
USE VOICE FOR?
The main use of voice is
online search (64%) and asking
questions (63%). Both score a
higher percentage in Germany
than the global average as
these are simple and more
convenient tasks. Germans
are also more likely to use
voice technology to obtain
the weather forecast (49%)
and seek directions (45%).
%82OF REGULAR
VOICE USERS LIKE THE
IDEA OF BEING ABLE
TO ASK PRODUCTS
ABOUT THEIR
PROVENANCE
50% 1510 20 3025 35 40 45 50 55 60 65
Asking questions
Ask for directions
Listen to the radio
Find Recipes
a brand or company
Asking for the
weather forecast
Playing music
Global
Germany
L.U.C.Y.

%
%
%
Japan’s adoption of voice technology is broadly on a
par with other markets in the study. Without significant
smart speaker presence, and with a strong social stigma
around public use, most voice technology use has
been via smartphones in private spaces. But with
Japan’s heritage in robotics and anime idols, we
can expect adoption of voice assistants to develop
strongly in the near future. Google Home is launching
in summer 2017 and Amazon Echo is rumored to be
entering the Japanese market next.
THE VOICE
LANDSCAPE
Voice technology in Japan first
appeared with the Google
voice-search functionality
in 2009. Subsequently, there
were a number of local
launches, including the Gatebox
companion device in December
2016. Most mobile carriers,
such as NTT Docomo, have
their own voice propositions.
In the future, Line will launch
a system similar to Alexa, while
Amazon plans to launch the Echo
by the end of the year. Japan’s
long-established culture of
robotics has led to a number
of humanoid or social robots
with voice recognition, such as
Pepper and Musio.
MUSIO
Designed by AKA Intelligence and
powered by MUSE, Musio is an
artificially intelligent social robot
that understands and grows with
its user. The device syncs with
calendars to remind users of
meetings. It controls connected
devices and tells jokes, acting
like a chatty friend. The
anthropomorphization of voice
devices is particularly interesting.
As the technology advances, they
become more like humans and
eventually could foster stronger
emotional relationships.
PREFERRED
PLATFORMS
UTILIZATION
The weekly use of voice
assistant technology in Japan
is just above the global average
at 34%. Without significant
smart speaker presence in the
market, most usage is focused
on the smartphone.
50% 1510 20 3025 35
only once or twice
Global
Japan
UTILIZATION OF VOICE ASSISTANT
(% OF SMARTPHONE USERS IN JAPAN VS. GLOBAL AVERAGE)WEEKLY VOICE USERS
DEMOGRAPHICS
51
59
62
JAPAN VOICE
PROFILE 35-54
REASONS
JAPANESE
USE VOICE
TECHNOLOGY
Google Search app
It’s convenient
Siri
It’s faster than typing
Google Now
3
3
2
2
1
1
MEDIUM¥
Musio
45

50% 1510 20 3025 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70
Find recipes
Find information on
a local business
Ask for directions
Asking questions
Asking for the
weather forecast
Find a local business
Global
Japan
(% OF REGULAR VOICE USERS IN JAPAN VS. GLOBAL AVERAGE)
GET PHYSICAL With the most advanced robotics industry in the world, Japan’s
consumers are more comfortable talking to physical objects than consumers in any
other country. Brands have a great opportunity in Japan to add a voice experience
to the physical world—to their products, their retail outlets or to public spaces.
DIAL UP THE PERSONALITY Anime culture, typified by the humanoid persona
Hatsune Miku, has familiarized Japanese consumers with developing emotional
attachments to virtual characters. Add a strong personality to a voice experience
to tap into this cultural trend.
KEEP IT PRIVATE Think how your voice innovations can add value in the home
or in the car. In Japan, using voice on public transport or on the street is considered
rude to fellow citizens.
At Mobile World Congress 2017,
Sony announced its latest artiﬁcially
intelligent Xperia Ear earbud, which
features its virtual assistant Agent.
Users can receive social media
updates, information about missed
calls and calendar appointments.
The earpiece answers questions
and understands instructions to
call contacts. The rise of hearables
indicates a move away from the
screen—consumers want to engage
with the world about them and stay
connected to technology without
staring at their devices.
XPERIA EAR
WHAT DO PEOPLE
USE VOICE FOR?
The main use of voice
technology is online search
(63%) and for finding
information on a product of
interest (55%). As in most
markets, voice usage in Japan is
driven by convenience. Using
it to search or ask questions
makes up the top three uses,
%72OF REGULAR VOICE
USERS SAY
I WOULD FEEL TOO
EMBARRASSED TO USE
VOICE TECHNOLOGY
IN PUBLIC
athough this is lower than the
global average. Asking for
directions is considerably
lower than the global
average, perhaps reflecting
the Japanese reluctance to use
voice technology in public.
Xperia Ear

%
%
%
Singapore has the lowest level of voice adoption of
the nine countries in our study. As a mainly English-
speaking market, the development of voice has not
been spurred on by the challenges of texting and
typing, as in other Asian markets. A combination
of heightened concerns over voice privacy,
the lack of any of the main smart speakers, and no
concerted push of voice search by Google has left
the Singapore voice market still in its infancy.
THE VOICE
LANDSCAPE
Singapore later than most
markets. In 2011, Siri was
the first voice service to be
launched. Samsung S Voice
followed the next year.
However, without Amazon
Echo or Google Home in
Singapore, early adopters have
had to import from the US.
Google Assistant entered the
market in the past month and
the launch of Google Allo is
scheduled for September
this year.
BUS UNCLE
Bus Uncle is a bus arrival chatbot
that lives on Facebook Messenger.
Created by software engineer
Abhilash Murthy, Bus Uncle is a
human-like bot that provides witty
responses alongside bus times.
While it can only process text for
now, it understands Singaporean
creole, called Singlish, through
natural language processing. In the
future, Bus Uncle hopes to integrate
voice into its offering to enhance
the experience and deepen the
connection with its users.
PREFERRED
PLATFORMS
UTILIZATION
At 17%, the weekly use of
voice technology in Singapore is
low in comparison to the global
average. As most Singaporeans
speak English, it is still
relatively easy to text and type.
Without the big voice players
pushing their devices, awareness
is comparatively low. However,
consideration of use in the
future is high, so Singaporeans
are certainly open to the idea
of voice technology.
50% 1510 20 3025 35 40 45
only once or twice
Global
Singapore
(% OF SMARTPHONE USERS IN SINGAPORE VS. GLOBAL AVERAGE)
WEEKLY VOICE USERS
DEMOGRAPHICS
70
53
52
SINGAPORE
VOICE
PROFILE
18-44
REASONS
SINGAPOREANS
USE VOICE
TECHNOLOGY
Siri
Just for fun
Samsung S Voice
I’m in a rush
Google Search app
I’m feeling lazy
3
3
2
2
1
1
HIGH
Bus Uncle
47

(% OF REGULAR VOICE USERS IN SINGAPORE VS. GLOBAL AVERAGE)
KEEP IT SIMPLE Singaporean consumers are typically cautious and practical.
With the voice market at an early stage in its development, keep early voice
innovations simple and focused.
OPTIMISE FOR VOICE SEARCH As search is one of the main tasks achieved
with voice in Singapore, focus on how search investment can be optimized for
growing utilization.
PRIVACY PARTICULARLY MATTERS Consumers in Singapore are more
privacy conscious than in any other Asian market. Reassuring voice users
about how their data is being used is particularly important in Singapore.
WHAT DO PEOPLE
USE VOICE FOR?
Usage in Singapore is below
the global average in many
cases, reflecting the early
stage of market development.
The most popular use is for
looking for information on
a product of interest (52%)
and for asking fun questions
(46%). Using it for fun is an
indicator that voice technology
is remains something of a
novelty in Singapore.
OF REGULAR VOICE USERS SAY
I AM WORRIED
ABOUT COMPANIES
LISTENING TO THE
CONVERSATIONS
I HAVE WITH MY
VOICE ASSISTANT
%65
50% 1510 20 3025 35 40 45 50 55 60
Listening to the radio
a brand or company
Playing music
Asking for directions
Asking questions
Making a call
Global
Singapore

%
%
%
Despite the biggest available voice services in Spain
working better in English than Spanish, voice
technology has been embraced strongly in the
country. The Spanish love of convenience, coupled
to a relatively lax attitude regarding online privacy,
has driven adoption. Much of voice use occurs out of
the home and is focused on search, functional tasks and
information seeking, rather than on fun or shopping.
THE VOICE
LANDSCAPE
Voice technology in Spain
has been around since the
launch of Google voice-search
functionality back in March
2009. It was followed by Siri in
October 2011. Spain then saw
the launch of voice assistant
applications such as the
Google Assistant and Google
Allo in May 2017, and local
examples such as Sherpa.
PREFERRED
PLATFORMS
UTILIZATION
The weekly use of
voice technology among
smartphone users in Spain
is 32%, just above the global
average. In Spain, 43% of
people say there is a need for
more information on how
voice assistants work.
50% 1510 20 3025 35
only once or twice
Global
Spain
(% OF SMARTPHONE USERS IN SPAIN VS. GLOBAL AVERAGE)
WEEKLY VOICE USER
DEMOGRAPHICS
45
56
42
SPAIN VOICE
PROFILE
18-34REASONS SPANISH
USE VOICE
TECHNOLOGY
Google Search app
It’s convenient
Google Now/
Google Assistant
Siri/Cortana
3
3
2
2
1
1
HIGH€
SHERPA
Bilbao-based Sherpa is a voice-
activated personal assistant app
for Android that is popular
in Spain and Spanish-speaking
countries. The latest version focuses
on personalization and learns from
the user’s preferences and habits.
Artificial Intelligence algorithms
predict the kind of information
users might want, ranging from the
scores of favorite sports teams to
reminders to take an umbrella
when rain is forecast.
Sherpa
%
%
%
THE VOICE
LANDSCAPE
PREFERRED
PLATFORMS
UTILIZATION
The weekly use of
50% 1510 20 3025 35
only once or twice
Global
Spain
WEEKLY VOICE USER
DEMOGRAPHICS
45
56
42
SPAIN VOICE
PROFILE
USE VOICE
TECHNOLOGY
Google Search app
It’s convenient
Google Now/
Google Assistant
Siri/Cortana
3
3
2
2
1
1
HIGH€
SHERPA
Sherpa
%
%
%
THE VOICE
LANDSCAPE
PREFERRED
PLATFORMS
UTILIZATION
The weekly use of
50% 1510 20 3025 35
only once or twice
Global
Spain
WEEKLY VOICE USER
DEMOGRAPHICS
45
56
42
SPAIN VOICE
PROFILE
USE VOICE
TECHNOLOGY
Google Search app
It’s convenient
Google Now/
Google Assistant
Siri/Cortana
3
3
2
2
1
1
HIGH€
SHERPA
Sherpa
49

(% OF REGULAR VOICE USERS IN SPAIN VS. GLOBAL AVERAGE)
PLAY ON THE CONVENIENCE Spanish consumers love the convenience
that voice offers, so think about how voice can be used to remove friction from
the consumer journey.
MAKE IT PHYSICAL Voice use is stronger outside the home and Spanish
consumers love shopping days out. How can voice enhance the retail experience
in the physical world?
MAKE THE VALUE EXPLICIT Of all Western consumers, the Spanish are most
concerned about companies or governments snooping their communications.
In developing a voice service, make the value exchange clear and transparent to
ensure Spanish consumers are aware of the benefits of sharing information.
WHAT DO PEOPLE
USE VOICE
ASSISTANT FOR?
The main usage is for online
search (68%) and for asking
questions (60%), both of which
scored higher in Spain than
the global average. For Spanish
consumers, shopping is an
event, a day out with friends.
Consequently, ecommerce
is relatively underdeveloped,
so using voice for shopping
is currently unlikely. However,
using voice to find information
on brands and companies is
higher than the global average.
%51OF REGULAR VOICE
TECH USERS IN SPAIN
USE VOICE WHILE
WALKING DOWN
THE STREET (COMPARED
TO A GLOBAL AVERAGE
OF 31%)
50% 1510 20 3025 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70
Making a call
Asking for the
weather forecast
Asking questions
Playing music
a brand or company
Look up a song
playing on the radio
Find recipes
Global
Spain
TRIBY
Triby Family is a voice-activated
smart speaker with a built-in
Alexa voice service. To ensure
it picks up voice commands
even when music is playing,
the device has several
microphones and In Vivo
Acoustic Technology’s noise
cancellation. Although voice
activation does not currently
function in Spain, the popularity
of the speaker in this market
points to a potential avenue for
early adoption of Alexa when
it goes on sale.
Triby

%
%
%
Smartphone users in Thailand have embraced voice
technology more than in any other Asian market.
Among a young, urban and aspirational audience,
voice technology is seen as cutting edge and desirable.
While use has naturally focused on the smartphone
and digital assistants, voice technology has also been
adopted in many other product sectors. It has become
a cultural phenomenon, with consumers creating viral
videos of voice interactions and brands using it in
their marketing.
THE VOICE
LANDSCAPE
Thailand with the launch of
Siri in 2011, followed by
Cortana in 2015. During 2016,
a number of voice-focused
apps were launched, such as
Qooco Talk, an educational
tool. Although smart speakers
are yet to launch in Thailand,
voice control has been integrated
into a range of consumer
electronics products from
televisions to air-conditioning
units. Voice biometric
identification has also recently
been introduced by Citibank.
PREFERRED
PLATFORMS
UTILIZATION
At 51%, weekly use of
voice technology amongst
smartphone users in Thailand
is above the global average.
This reflects the early-
adopter nature of smartphone
users in Thailand in comparison
to more mature mobile
markets in the West. They are
typically young, urban and
aspirational. In general,
Thai smartphone users are
50% 1510 20 3025 35 40 45 5550
only once or twice
Global
Thailand
(% OF SMARTPHONE USERS IN THAILAND VS. GLOBAL AVERAGE)
WEEKLY VOICE USERS
DEMOGRAPHICS
53
56
49
THAILAND
VOICE
PROFILE
18-34
REASONS THAIS
USE VOICE
TECHNOLOGY
Google Search app
It’s convenient
Siri
Google Now
3
3
2
2
1
1
LOW
very enthusiastic about voice
and only 5% say they think
that they will never use it.
51

(% OF REGULAR VOICE USERS, THAILAND AND GLOBAL AVERAGE)
Qooco
GET PHYSICAL Thais have embraced voice technology in all its guises, which
gives brands a great opportunity in Thailand to add a voice experience to all
aspects of the physical world.
KEEP COOL Voice is a highly aspirational technology among young urban Thais.
Innovative marketers can appropriate some of the cool factor for their brands
with a cutting-edge voice application.
HAVE FUN Voice interaction has entered the cultural vernacular among young
Thais. Think how your brand could tap into this.
Qooco is a language app that helps
Thais improve their foreign language skills.
Cirrus Ltd, the company that built the
app, noticed the limited opportunities
Thais have to practise foreign
languages in Thailand. Through speech
recognition, the app identiﬁes words
and analyzes users’ pronunciation.
QOOCO
WHAT DO PEOPLE
USE VOICE FOR?
In Thailand, the leading
voice technology usages are
for finding information on
products of interest (70%)
and for online searches
%42
(VERSUS THE GLOBAL
AVERAGE OF 26%)
50% 1510 20 3025 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70
a brand or company
Check travel information
Look up a song
playing on the radio
Ask for directions
Asking questions
Find recipes
Making a call
Global
Thailand
IT’S COOL
OF REGULAR VOICE
USERS SAY THEY USE
VOICE COMMANDS
BECAUSE
(64%). Voice technology is
also used for fun, as Thai
consumers want to see how it
answers local questions. This
has become a cultural feature,
with spoof videos of people
using voice commands.

%
%
%
Although it was one of the first markets in which
Amazon Echo and Google Home launched,
the adoption of voice technology in the United
Kingdom has not been as strong as in other markets.
Certain uses, such as shopping, are more developed,
reflecting UK consumers’ strong appetite for
ecommerce, but in general, British consumers are
adopting a wait-and-see approach to voice tech.
THE VOICE
LANDSCAPE
Voice technology has been
a feature of the UK market
for some years following the
arrival of Google voice-search
functionality in 2010 and Siri
in 2011. Comparatively limited
speech-recognition capabilities
resulted in slow initial growth.
In the past 12 months, the
sector has seen considerable
consumer interest with the
launch of Amazon Echo in
September 2016, Google
Home in April 2017 and the
integration of voice search
into SkyQ. Britain’s technology
industry has produced a
number of sophisticated
voice-activated products,
such as social robot Olly
and AI leader DeepMind.
OLLY
General-purpose social robots such
as Olly are an alternative to smart
speakers. By developing a different
personality for each user, Olly aims
to be more personal than other voice
assistants. The desktop bot plays
music, syncs with other connected
devices and oﬀers advice in a similar
way to a friend. The start-up behind
the product, London-based Emotech,
unveiled the desktop bot at CES 2017
and it is expected to go on sale later
this year.
PREFERRED
PLATFORMS
UTILIZATION
While penetration of voice
technology in the UK is
comparable to the global
average, a smaller proportion
of smartphone users have
adopted voice into their
routines on a regular basis.
Of those who are yet to try
voice technology, 46% cite
guarantees around
personal data
security and 42% say more
information about what voice
50% 1510 20 3025 35
only once or twice
Global
UK
(% OF SMARTPHONE USERS IN UK VS. GLOBAL AVERAGE)WEEKLY VOICE USERS
DEMOGRAPHICS
53
60
48
UK VOICE
PROFILE
It’s convenient
Siri
Google Now
Google Voice Search
3
3
2
2
1
1
18-34
MEDIUM
TOP THREE
REASONS BRITS
USE VOICE
assistants can do are factors
that would influence their
adoption of the technology.
%60OF SMARTPHONE USERS FEEL THAT
IF VOICE ASSISTANTS COULD UNDERSTAND ME
PROPERLY AND SPEAK BACK TO ME AS WELL AS
A HUMAN CAN, I’D USE THEM ALL THE TIME Olly
53

100% 3020 40 6050 70
Asking questions
Global
UK
Playing music
Ask for directions
a brand or company
Making a call
Find a local business
(% OF REGULAR VOICE USERS IN UK VS. GLOBAL AVERAGE)
AIM FOR INTEGRATION In this well-developed technology market, users of
voice are looking for greater integration across platforms, devices and contexts.
MAKE IT SMART Some users are underwhelmed by the current sophistication
of voice assistants and feel that the promise of voice has been oversold.
CONSIDER NEW CONSUMER GROUPS Voice users are starting to
co-opt new behaviours into their daily routines as voice technology matures
and enables tasks to be performed more easily.
The Snow Fox is a children’s story app
developed by digital agency AKQA.
Moving from scene to scene as the
child reads aloud, it progresses at
the pace of each reader. The tale is
personalized to the child, allowing
them to input their name and gender.
By using voice technology, The Snow
Fox oﬀers a more interactive and
enriching experience, illustrating the
impact voice can have on storytelling.
THE SNOW FOX
WHAT DO PEOPLE
USE VOICE FOR?
United Kingdom voice users
are typically more likely than
the global average to have
carried out almost all of the
voice usages. In particular,
shopping is strong,
reflecting Amazon’s voice
presence in the UK market.
Other strong performers are
playing music, due perhaps
to the more prevalent use of
streaming services, and asking
about the weather, which is
almost certainly due to Britons’
obsession with their country’s
changeable climate.
NORMALLY, WHILE I TRY TO MUSTER THE ENERGY
TO GET OUT OF BED, I GET ALEXA TO READ ME MY
FLASH BRIEFING. I DON’T HAVE A TV AND DON’T
REALLY USE NEWSPAPERS, SO BEING ABLE TO
LIE THERE AND SLOWLY CATCH UP ON THE NEWS
IN THE MORNING IS PERFECT FOR ME
UK online respondent
The Snow Fox

%
%
%
%
As the home of the tech giants, the United States is
the most developed voice market in terms of both
utilization and the prevalence of different forms of
voice technology. Cultural factors, such as enthusiasm
for tech innovation, a pervasive driving culture and
long working hours, make voice services particularly
attractive to American consumers.
THE VOICE
LANDSCAPE
Voice technology arrived in the
United States in March 2009,
when Google Voice Search
launched. Siri followed in
October 2011. Since then, the
market has seen various new
launches, including Amazon
Alexa, Google Home and,
most recently, Apple’s
HomePod. In the first five
months of 2017, six new
voice assistants launched in
the United States.
With 49% of all smartphone
users using voice on a weekly
basis, United States consumers’
use of the technology is the
highest among all Western
markets. The importance
of the car in the US has
spurred adoption of voice
technology as 65% of regular
voice users report using voice
while driving, the highest of
all our surveyed markets.
Privacy concerns are high
in the United States because
their laws are very relaxed.
Consequently, of all the US
consumers who currently don’t
use voice technology, 48%
say they need guarantees that
their voice technology data will
not be used for anything else
before they will consider using
the technology in the future.
ARISTOTLE
In partnership with Microsoft
and Qualcomm, Mattel launched
Aristotle, a Cortana-equipped smart
speaker designed for children.
Capable of understanding toddlers,
children and adults, the speaker
doubles as a smart baby monitor,
soothing a child back to sleep with
a lullaby and logging their sleeping
patterns. The device can also inform
parents if a baby is awake via
smartphone notiﬁcations, as well
as automatically reorder diapers
when they run out.
PREFERRED
PLATFORMS
UTILIZATION
50% 1510 20 3025 35 40 45 50
only once or twice
Global
United States
(% OF SMARTPHONE USERS IN US VS. GLOBAL AVERAGE)
WEEKLY VOICE USERS
DEMOGRAPHICS
41
62
82
41
US VOICE
PROFILE
18-34
REASONS
AMERICANS
USE VOICE
TECHNOLOGY
Siri
Google Search app
It’s convenient
Google Now/Google
Assistant
3
3
2
2
1
1
MEDIUM/
HIGH
MEDIUM
$
Aristotle
55

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