Key Insights
Essential data points from our research
Over 1 billion voice searches take place every month
50% of the US population uses voice search features daily
27% of the total online global population is using voice search on mobile
51% of online shoppers use voice assistants to research products
Voice commerce sales reached $40 billion in 2022
22% of US smart speaker owners have purchased something using their device
46% of voice search users look for a local business daily
28% of consumers go on to call the business after doing a voice search
76% of smart speaker users perform local searches at least once a week
Amazon Echo holds approximately 70% of the smart speaker market share in the US
There are over 200 million smart speakers installed globally
24% of US households own a smart speaker
Google's speech recognition accuracy is rated at 95%
Text-based searches are 3.7 times slower than voice searches
The average voice search answer is 29 words long
Local SEO & Business
- 146% of voice search users look for a local business daily
- 228% of consumers go on to call the business after doing a voice search
- 376% of smart speaker users perform local searches at least once a week
- 458% of consumers have found a local business through voice search
- 5"Near me" searches have grown 150% over the last two years
- 6The average voice search result loads in 4.6 seconds
- 740.7% of voice search answers come from a Featured Snippet
- 870.4% of voice search result pages are secured with HTTPS
- 9The average word count of a voice search result page is 2,312 words
- 1053% of smart speaker owners say it feels natural to talk to a local business via their device
- 1127% of consumers visit the website of a local business after a voice search
- 12Domains with high Domain Authority tend to rank better in voice search
- 13Only 1.71% of voice search results come from exact match title tags
- 14Voice search results tend to be written at a 9th-grade reading level
- 15Schema markup is not a direct ranking factor for voice search results
- 1636.4% of voice search results come from pages with social engagement above average
- 17Restaurant reservations are the most common function used in voice search for hospitality
- 1896% of brands are not yet voice-search ready
- 19Pages that rank in the top 3 desktop positions have a 75% chance of being the voice answer
- 20Voice search queries are usually longer and more conversational than text queries
Interpretation
With almost half of users searching for local businesses daily, "near me" queries up 150 percent, and smart speakers routinely turning searches into calls and bookings, the punchline is blunt: if your site is not fast, secure, conversationally written to win featured snippets and backed by real authority, you are invisible to the very customers asking for you.
Smart Speakers
- 1Amazon Echo holds approximately 70% of the smart speaker market share in the US
- 2There are over 200 million smart speakers installed globally
- 324% of US households own a smart speaker
- 440% of smart speaker owners have more than one device
- 5Google Home holds roughly 24% of the US smart speaker market
- 6Over 60 million people in the US use a smart speaker at least once a month
- 730% of smart speaker owners said the device has replaced time spent with TV
- 844% of smart speaker owners use the device to listen to music
- 964% of smart speaker owners are interested in using them for customer service
- 10Apple HomePod has approximately 5% market share in the US
- 1124% of smart speaker users use them to play games
- 1216% of Americans own a smart speaker and a smart display
- 13Smart speaker adoption grew by 135% between 2017 and 2019
- 1487% of smart speaker owners use the device on weekends
- 1550% of smart speaker owners use the device to check the weather
- 16China is the second-largest market for smart speakers after the US
- 17Smart speaker owners are 15% more likely to be early adopters of other tech
- 18Active installed base of smart speakers in China reached 86 million in 2019
- 1970% of smart speaker owners use the device to ask a question
- 20By 2024 the global smart speaker market is expected to obtain a value of 15.6 billion
Interpretation
With Amazon Echo commanding roughly 70 percent of the U.S. market and over 200 million smart speakers installed worldwide, voice devices have quietly become a mainstream habit, turning living rooms into conversation hubs as owners ask questions, stream music, check the weather, play games, replace time spent with TV, and increasingly seek customer service by voice, a trend that fueled 135 percent growth between 2017 and 2019, made China the second largest market, and is on track to reach a global market value of 15.6 billion dollars by 2024.
Technology & UX
- 1Google's speech recognition accuracy is rated at 95%
- 2Text-based searches are 3.7 times slower than voice searches
- 3The average voice search answer is 29 words long
- 440% of consumers cite data privacy as a barrier to adoption
- 5Humans can speak 150 words per minute compared to typing 40 words per minute
- 695% of users say the accuracy of voice assistants has improved over time
- 741% of voice assistant users express concern about passive listening
- 8Voice recognition market size is projected to reach $27.16 billion by 2025
- 920% of mobile queries on Android devices are voice searches
- 1070% of requests to Google Assistant are expressed in natural language
- 11Chinese Baidu voice assistant processes over 2 billion requests according to an earlier report
- 12Errors in speech recognition have dropped from 23% in 2013 to under 5% today
- 1360% of smartphone users have tried voice search at least once
- 1445% of users get annoyed when a voice assistant does not understand them
- 1580% of voice responses are delivered with a conversational tone
- 16Users tolerate a 5% word error rate in voice recognition
- 1730% of web browsing sessions will be done without a screen by 2020 which drove innovation in UX
- 1890% of voice search users believe voice technology is easier than searching online
- 1973% of users will abandon a voice app after one poor experience
- 20Voice technology is integrated into 60 million cars in the US
Interpretation
Voice search is fast, fluent and fallible: with speech recognition about 95 percent accurate and people speaking nearly four times faster than they type, the technology is embedded in phones, cars and billions of daily requests and headed toward a $27 billion market, but 40 percent of consumers worry about privacy and 73 percent will abandon an app after one bad experience, so earning trust and avoiding that single frustrating interaction remains the industry’s biggest challenge.
Usage Trends
- 1Over 1 billion voice searches take place every month
- 250% of the US population uses voice search features daily
- 327% of the total online global population is using voice search on mobile
- 471% of people prefer to search by voice than the keyboard when looking for something
- 555% of teenagers use voice search on a daily basis
- 693% of consumers are satisfied with their voice assistants
- 7Men are almost twice as likely to use voice search as women
- 834% of people who do not use voice assistants say it is due to lack of security
- 9Gen Z is the largest demographic for voice search usage
- 1065% of people aged 25-49 talk to their voice-enabled devices at least once a day
- 1161% of consumers say voice assistance is helpful when their hands or vision are occupied
- 1252% of people place their voice-activated speakers in the living room
- 1325% of individuals place their smart speaker in the bedroom
- 1472% of people who own voice-activated speakers say that their devices are used as part of their daily routines
- 1541% of people say using voice search makes them feel tech-savvy
- 16Over 50% of adults reported they use voice search so they don't have to type
- 1718% of US adults own a car with an in-dash information and entertainment system with voice capabilities
- 18Voice search usage on smartphones has increased by 13% since 2019
- 1948% of consumers use voice mainly for general web searches
- 2032% of users turn to voice commands to ask for directions while driving
Interpretation
Voice search is staging a quiet takeover of everyday information: over a billion monthly queries and heavy daily use by Gen Z and 25 to 49 year olds show people prefer the hands-free convenience and high satisfaction of speaking rather than typing, even as security worries and a pronounced gender gap remind us adoption is widespread but not universal.
Voice Commerce
- 151% of online shoppers use voice assistants to research products
- 2Voice commerce sales reached $40 billion in 2022
- 322% of US smart speaker owners have purchased something using their device
- 4Grocery shopping accounts for 20% of voice shopping purchases
- 536% of consumers have used voice assistants to add items to their shopping lists
- 630% of voice shoppers use the technology to track a package
- 758% of consumers use voice search to find a local business
- 843% of voice-enabled device owners use them to shop
- 920% of consumers with smart speakers use them for shopping activities like reordering items
- 10Apparel and clothing are the most popular categories for purchase via voice
- 1152% of smart speaker owners are interested in receiving deals and promotions via voice
- 1211.5% of smart speaker owners in the US make purchases by voice monthly
- 1380% of consumer purchase satisfaction on voice comes from ease of use
- 1433% of consumers plan to use voice shopping for making payments in the future
- 15Users are 28% more likely to buy a brand that offers a voice-enabled experience
- 1617% of consumers have used voice to purchase meal delivery
- 17The average value of a voice shopping transaction is higher than a text-based search transaction
- 1850% of consumers say they have made a purchase through a voice assistant in the last year
- 19Electronics account for 13% of voice shopping orders
- 2039% of consumers said they used voice assistants to find out store opening hours
Interpretation
Voice assistants are quietly becoming the ultimate shopping sidekick, with half of online shoppers using them to research or buy and voice commerce already hitting $40 billion in 2022, driven by ease of use that yields high satisfaction and higher average order values, heavy adoption for groceries, apparel, reorders, package tracking and local searches, strong interest in deals and future payment use, and a clear 28% brand advantage for companies that offer a voice-enabled experience.
