Ok Google, tell me why voice search is becoming so popular in 2018.
Alexa, why is voice search becoming a preferred searching method for many people today?
These are the names and phrases you can expect to hear a lot more in the future—Ok Google (Google’s Home Assistant), Alexa (Amazon’s AI assistant), and Siri (Apple’s AI assistant).
These are all types of voice search. They are made of artificial intelligence combined with voice recognition technology. Users ask them questions and receive coherent, logical responses. This is considered to be the future of online searches. The above-mentioned products are just the beginning.
Voice search functionality has been around for quite some time, but it was not until recently that it has really been refined. The speech recognition technology used in voice search products has been improved ten-folds. Devices powered by it can now understand what we say and put it into a context with a spectacular accuracy.
So, why is voice search becoming so popular?
Firstly and most importantly, this type of search functionality is convenient and easy to use. All you have to do is literally speak into your smartphone or smart speaker and the voice search technology will return relevant search results.
Secondly, for those who cannot type at the moment (or at all)—while driving or otherwise occupied—or struggle to use a smartphone, it removes the typing element completely. Providing you speak clearly, there is no need to try and type a complicated sentence on your smart device at all.
As you can see, voice search technology really is fantastic and it is easy to see why it is making such an impact in the online world. Since the original IBM Shoebox speech recognition tool was released in 1961, through to the current day where we have Apple HomePod, Samsung’s Bixby, and Google’s Duplex, voice search technology really is set to take over the world.
We can expect in the second part of 2018 and onwards for voice search to become increasingly prominent. Many more businesses will follow suit and create their own voice search technology.
The infographic below offers additional insights into the world of voice searching.
