In DSG’s last blog post, we discussed how voice search is the new technological phenomenon taking the world by storm. Today, we’re delving deeper and discussing location-based voice searches, which account for 22% of all voice searches made.
Usage Facts
75% of people who own smart speakers perform at least one voice search a week to find more information on a local business, with 53% of users performing local searches on a daily basis. Smart speaker owners are the most likely users to make local searches every day. It’s important for businesses that aim to serve a large local base to take note of these shifts in consumer behavior. The constant growth in voice search presents many new opportunities for digital markets in the coming future.
When asked what business types users would consider using voice search to find, the largest percent of respondents, at 51%, responded restaurants and cafes. However, it’s important to note that consumers predominantly use voice assistants to find information on businesses that they are already aware of, rather than to discover new ones. Voice assistants facilitate this local business research and give the opportunity for a more convenient connection between businesses and their customers.
Google Duplex
In their latest reveal, Google has pushed boundaries even further with their newest voice assistant project. Google Duplex is designed to help users book appointments or reservations with local businesses and aims to be the first assistant to complete real-world tasks. The tool has already debuted in select locations, and functions through the Google Assistant application, which comes preinstalled on many smartphone devices.
Duplex allows users to book appointments and reservations with local businesses without picking up the phone, by simply saying “okay Google, book a lunch reservation”. The technology is still very much in its early days, and relies heavily on human intervention in many of its’ calls. Nevertheless, Google’s ability to utilize AI to realistically mimic a conversational human voice shows promise for the astounding future of voice-assisted technology.
Check out this video that showcases the power of Google’s AI Assistant. It gets very interesting at the one-minute mark, in which Google’s AI makes an appointment at a salon for their “client.”
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Sources:
https://searchengineland.com/its-time-for-local-business-to-take-voice-search-seriously-299101
https://www.brightlocal.com/research/voice-search-for-local-business-study/
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/22/technology/personaltech/ai-google-duplex.html
https://www.androidauthority.com/what-is-google-duplex-869476/