Today nearly one in five U.S. adults has access to a smart speaker.
That’s a growth of 43.7 million users in just two years, and the technology in these smart speakers continues to develop and become more sophisticated, specifically with the ways in which consumers interact with artificial intelligence assistants like Alexa, Echo, Google Home, Siri and Cortana.
The rise of AI Assistants will change the way consumers interact with any organization in the near future. Rather than consumers shopping for new products (such as going to a store or looking online for a new pair of shoes), customers are asking their preferred AI Assistant to search for new shoes. Based on the recommendation they receive (because the AI Assistant knows consumer likes and dislikes based on purchase history and other data), the consumer decides which shoes to buy.
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This shift means that consumers will become more loyal to their AI Assistant to handle everything from recommending purchases and ordering online to booking appointments and managing a calendar, rather than being loyal to a particular brand.
One essential transformation that will happen due to the prominence of AI Assistants, such as Alexa or Google Assistant, is how search engines are used.
Today, search engines are places to enter search queries, and get results from which to choose what to click. In as little as five years, online search will migrate to voice-activated devices. Instead of the consumer making decisions about information or products through searching and browsing, consumers will rely on an AI Assistant to sort through information and make decisions and purchases on their behalf.
Businesses and marketers now must think about AI Assistant technology as another marketing channel and focus on how to add value to the customer base through this new platform. This might be by creating a skill or an application specific to that platform, but it also may just be understanding how businesses can get their product not only promoted but preferred to relevant demographics and target groups through AI Assistants.
One of the best ways for marketers to stay on top of AI trends is to become a consumer of the technology themselves.
Here are a few ways to do that:
1. Become an avid user. Marketing stakeholders should become avid users of Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa. Use it in every way possible: get news updates, make purchases for your business and update your calendar, anything to help integrate the technology into your business life. As a result, you will have a better understanding of how consumers are using the technology in their everyday lives and relying on AI Assistants in their path to purchase.
2. Monitor your competition. Pay close attention to your competitors and how they are integrating AI into their marketing and business efforts.
3. Use AI Skills to do your job. There are a growing number of AI skills available to help businesses manage finances and budgets, make purchases and even control office devices. One area where marketers specifically spend a lot of time is analytics for everything from website traffic to sales and conversion data.
4. Build your own Skill. The best way to learn about a new technology is to become fully immersed in it and use it to solve a problem or need.
As the use of AI Assistants continue to grow exponentially among U.S. households, the best thing business owners and marketers can do is quickly become experts in how consumers are using the technology and its influence on purchasing behaviors within their industry.
Justin Spring is the co-founder of Adept Marketing, a full-service digital marketing agency focused on building digital campaigns that deliver quantifiable sales growth for clients.
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