Smartphones gave way to the concept of voice search on personal devices, which eventually evolved into voice assistants and smart speakers in every other household.

Thanks to this, consumers have actively and willingly used the voice search function to conduct searches about anything imaginable, from directions while driving to replenishing their monthly supply of flavored coffee pods. 

Statistics about the ease of voice search

Voice search has continued to grow in popularity due to its ease of use, accessibility, and hands-off approach, which should be unsurprising.

For example, if you’re in the middle of preparing raw chicken for dinner, but forgot what temperature to set the oven to, you’re not going to want to touch your smartphone with sticky, bacteria-filled hands. Sure, you could go wash your hands, but when you’re already in the middle of cooking, it’s more of a pain to do that than speaking to a voice assistant to get the answer you need. 

RELATED: Learn all about the world's first genderless voice assistant, which launched in 2019!

If you want to learn more about what voice search is used for, who uses it, and other interesting statistics, keep reading or click below to jump ahead! All in all, voice search has given consumers a new wave of freedom by eliminating using anything other than one’s voice to seek answers to any questions they have. 

• What is voice search used for?
• Who uses voice search?
• Where do people use voice search?
• Satisfaction with voice search
• Concerns about voice search
• Voice search facts, projections, and predictions

What is voice search used for?

• As of January 2019, 45% of US millennials say they regularly use voice search for shopping (Statista).
• 76% of people who have smart speakers use voice search for “local” searches once weekly (Search Engine Journal).
• 51% of consumers use voice search to find local restaurants (BrightLocal).
• 82% of people use voice-activated speakers to play music over anything else (CapTech).
• 11.5% of consumers make a purchase via the voice search function at least once a month (Voicebot).
• 44% of consumers use voice assistants to help control and regulate other smart home devices, like thermostats, lights, alarm systems, and other electronics (PwC).
• 25% of consumers use voice assistants to make household item purchases, the highest of all voice-based purchases (Search Engine Journal).
• 28% of people use their laptop or desktop computers to conduct voice search queries (BrightLocal).
• 34% of people use voice search to order takeout (Capgemini).
• 46% of people who use voice search on their smartphones look for local business information one or more times per day (BrightLocal).
• At least 20% of all voice searches consist of one or many words from a set of 25 keywords, including terms like “how,” “what,” “why,” and “best” (seoClarity).
• Around 58% of consumers use voice search to find local business information (Search Engine Journal).
• 28% of people use smart speakers to make payments (Capgemini).
• 89% of people choose smart devices to be compatible with voice assistants so they can verbally program and control said devices (PwC).
• 56% of all voice searches are made on a smartphone (BrightLocal).
• Nearly 12% of consumers purchase groceries through their smart speaker (Search Engine Journal). 

Who uses voice search?

• Only 12% of baby boomers use smart speakers and voice search capabilities (CapTech).
• 60% of smartphone users have tried voice search at least once in the past year (Quora Creative).
• 58% of smart speaker owners who utilize voice search make at least $75,000 in annual salary (CapTech).
• At least 52% of all smart speaker owners have a Bachelor’s degree or higher (CapTech).
• Only 37% of consumers aged 55+ have tried using voice search to find local businesses (BrightLocal).
• At least 60% of voice assistant owners are men (CapTech).
• 34% of people who do not own a voice assistant are interested in purchasing one (Global Web Index).
• 77% of people who own a smart speaker are homeowners (CapTech). 

Where do people use voice search?

• 52% of all voice-activated speakers are kept in a common area of the house, like the living room (ThinkWithGoogle).
• 25% of people place voice search devices in their bedroom (SEO Tribunal).
• 22% of people use their voice assistants in the kitchen (ThinkWithGoogle).
• 35% of people use voice search while in the car (Higher Visibility). 

RELATED: Voice search helps bring people and brands together. Learn how consumers use the tool to discover local businesses. 

Satisfaction with voice search

• A staggering 93% of consumers are satisfied with voice assistants (PwC).
• 41% of people who use voice-activated speakers say it feels like they’re talking to another person or a friend (ThinkWithGoogle).
• 50% of voice search users are extremely satisfied with the quality of their interactions (PwC). 

Concerns about voice search

• 35% of consumers say that their devices do not understand them when using the voice search function on a smartphone (PwC). 
• 23% of people feel sharing payment information with a voice assistant is unsafe (Search Engine Journal).
• 38% of consumers are worried that voice search devices are “listening in” on their conversations even when not in use (PwC).  
• Nearly 32% of US consumers feel uncomfortable making purchases through voice search functionalities (Search Engine Journal).

Voice search facts, projections, and predictions

• Google Home and Amazon Echo account for 94% of all smart speakers (SEO Tribunal).
• Around 43% of voice assistant owners use their device to help with buying decisions (DialogTech).
• 45% of current smart speaker owners say they will buy another one in the future (SEO Tribunal).
• Almost 70% of all voice searches made to Google are done through natural language (conversational tone without SEO intentionality) (ThinkWithGoogle).
• During 2019, voice search devices will become a $601 million industry (SEO Tribunal).
• It’s likely that at least 50% of all searches will be done via voice search by 2020 (ComScore).
• By 2021, 41% of consumers will use voice search assistants over apps or websites (Capgemini).
• Voice search e-commerce is expected to grow to $40 billion by 2022 (Forbes). 

Will voice search continue to dominate our online search habits?

While it’s unlikely that voice search will completely wipe out our need for text-based online searches, it is highly likely that the competition will continue to grow. Ease of use is always the number one concern on consumers’ minds, so if there’s an easier way to retrieve information, make purchases, and browse the web, it’s guaranteed to shake up the internet as we know it. 

Want to continue learning? Read about the top artificial intelligence statistics of 2019!