To no one’s surprise, the story of CES 2019 was the battle between Amazon and Google to lead the emerging voice-first world. CES was awash with announcements about products such as alarm clocks and thermostats powered by Amazon’s Alexa virtual assistant and Google Assistant, prompting coverage such as CNET’s “ ” and USA Today’s “ ” Who Won CES 2019: Amazon or Google? CES 2019: Google vs. Amazon, Who Won? In the aftermath of CES, though, one question looms: What exactly do Amazon and Google get out of winning this battle? Numbers Galore Both Amazon and Google used CES to state the case for their leadership of voice (Apple, Microsoft, and Samsung, while certainly players, are not the leaders in voice although Apple is a strong challenger). Google that Google Assistant is on one billion devices, up from 500 million in May 2018 (a figure boosted by the sale of Android phones that contain Google Assistant by default). Amazon that it has sold more than 100 million devices that rely on its Alexa virtual assistant. In addition, the number of people who use Alexa every day — and who own more than one Amazon Echo smart speaker — doubled in 2018. announced disclosed Meanwhile, during CES, more telling numbers were disclosed. According to research conducted by Edison Research and NPR, 53 million adults in the United States (or two out of 10 Americans) own at least one voice-activated smart speaker. The number of smart speakers in homes has increased 78 percent year over year. And on January 8, Accenture that half of online consumers globally use digital voice assistants, up from 42 percent one year ago. reported These figures don’t mean that people are actually using their voices to buy things from businesses. In fact, most people use voice assistants to such as listening to music and getting weather information. But the usage data is important nevertheless. It shows that even if we’re not exactly living in a voice-first world, we’re getting there — and doing so quickly considering that the Amazon Echo didn’t exist until 2014, and Google Home just two years later. In addition, , 20 percent of all Google mobile queries were voice searches. perform everyday tasks by 2016 The rise of voice also helps explains why so many companies continue to launch products fueled by voice at CES, and 2019 was no exception. Gadgets and Software Integrations CES unleashed a dizzying array of products powered by voice, usually through Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa. These products typically focus on making it easier for people to use their voices to live in their homes and navigate their cars. For instance: In the Home Lenovo an alarm clock powered by Google Assistant. and rolled out smart displays that rely on Google Assistant to help you get recipes, watch videos, and do anything else to keep you occupied and entertained in the kitchen. , which can be controlled by Alexa and Google Assistant, monitors energy usage and suggests which products to automatically turn off to conserve power. The Dalkin smart thermostat works with Alexa and Google Assistant to control the climate in your home. announced KitchenAid GE Currant’s new smart wall outlet You can learn more about major product announcements and . (For those of you keeping score, in November 2018, Recode that Google Assistant works with 10,000 smart home devices versus 20,000 for Alexa.) But the most intriguing products, such as the Currant smart wall outlet, use artificial intelligence to not only act on your voice commands but also give you information and manage your home without your intervention. here here reported On the Go Both Amazon and Google showed that Alexa and Google Assistant are powering our lives on the go, too. , which is important because of Google Maps’s popularity for mobile wayfinding. As Mashable , “Google envisions users asking it for directions home, or to nearby restaurants and saved locations. You can ask the assistant to search for places along your route (like gas stations) or add a stop — all things that used to require some button pushing.” Google formally integrated Google Maps with Google Assistant noted Amazon announced a stronger push into voice-powered automobiles. CES was barely under way when Amazon and Telenav, a provider of connected car and location-based services, that makes it possible for drivers to use the Telenav Alexa-powered navigation system to do the same kinds of functional tasks that they can do with Google Maps. And then Amazon formally launched smart speaker for the car. Google announced a similar product through a relationship with Anker’s Roav automotive accessory, which is essentially a . announced a relationship Amazon Echo Google Home for the car These announcements continued a battle for on-the-go voice experiences that has been going on for some with Google, Apple, and Amazon all rapidly launching products and software designed to be the de facto infotainment systems for different car manufacturers. The irony is that major auto makers have been dips in sales for 2018. But overall, automotive has been a strong industry over the past several years. And now cars are getting smarter. announcing What Do They Want? No wonder so many “Google versus Amazon” stories have proliferated throughout January. But the more important question than who “won” CES is what do Amazon and Google get out of all these voice-powered products? The answer is simple: The company that owns the ecosystem monetizes the voice-first world. Owning the ecosystem yields practical benefits, such as revenue gained from the sale of smart speakers. Amazon commands a strong leadership of smart speakers, . As of 2019, Amazon is capturing 63.3 percent of the smart speaker market, with Google Home accounting for 31 percent. The numbers matter for another reason besides revenue: smart speakers connect people with other smart devices, thus acting as a gateway for product integrations. As Accenture in its survey of global smart assistant users, “[n]inety-three percent of consumers globally expect their home device purchases, such as smart TVs or computers, to be based on ease of integration with their standalone smart speaker.” but Google is catching up noted Google’s Motivation For Google, being the backbone of voice protects the company’s online advertising business, . Google needs to to keep using products such as the Google search engine, Google Maps, and the Google Chrome web browser. As people stay on Google, Google can continue to deliver audiences to advertisers and learn from audience behavior. As people use voice, Google can keep them on Google by incorporating voice into its products, launching new products such as Google Home, and making Google Assistant part of other companies’ products, which is the alarm clocks, thermostats, and cars using Google Assistant come into play. which accounts for more than 70 percent of Google’s revenue keep giving people reasons But it’s not all about advertising for Google. Google also wants intelligent voice assistants to make Google software and hardware (such as Pixel phones) , a dramatic example being Google’s Duplex software, . more useful and popular which can make convincing phone calls on behalf of human beings What Amazon Wants Amazon has its own motivations. Amazon is already a popular search engine for product searches, . Amazon also needs to incorporate voice to keep those shoppers using Amazon as they become more comfortable using voice — not just because Amazon wants them to buy things from Amazon with their voices, but also because Amazon is building an online advertising business that is already the . with half of online shoppers starting their searches on Amazon third largest in the industry, behind Google and Facebook As Amazon creates its own advertising business, it, too, needs to show potential advertisers that it can deliver an audience to them — in the home and on the go, whether they use their voices or text to get what they need. In 2018, that Amazon was in talks with advertising giants such as Procter & Gamble to permit them to advertise on Amazon Echo speakers. . But even if Amazon does not offer ads, per se, it can use voice to mine valuable data about its customers that would be useful to its advertisers, such as Google can. it was reported Amazon has denied that it’s going to permit advertising through Alexa Amazon is already working with businesses to monetize skills. Through premium content known that reside within Alexa skills, businesses can sell premium content such as in-game currency. For example, Stoked Skill offers free games such as and . The games are set up as Alexa skills. Players use Alexa skills to find clues that will help them escape spaces such as jell cells and cars. Customers can pay for optional “hint” packs (in in-skill product) that make it easier for them to escape. as in-skill products Escape the Room Escape the Airplane I could see Amazon also offering branded content and products to Prime customers who use Echo, such as discounts at local restaurants unlocked exclusively through Amazon Echo Auto. Doing so would monetize voice without more intrusive advertising that lack any useful offers. Finally, Amazon has other plans to monetize voice in the enterprise, such as to help enterprises use Alexa to improve workforce productivity. , companies are using Alexa for Business to book conference rooms, manage the connection status of shared devices, and other workplace tasks. But Amazon has competition in the enterprise most notably from and . Alexa for Business As these examples show Apple Microsoft What Business Should Do Brands have a clear mandate: prepare for a voice-first world, and one where Amazon and Google call the shots for now. When consumers start really buying products and services via voice assistants, brands will need to play ball with the companies that control the voice ecosystem. Here is how Recode one way that world will play out: envisions How it works now: If you ask Amazon’s Alexa or Google Assistant to buy, say, shampoo, they’ll surface what they think you’ll want. Alexa uses several criteria to suggest a purchase option: Your order history, whether a product is eligible for free Prime shipping and whether the product has the “Amazon’s Choice” seal of approval — “highly rated, well-priced products available to ship immediately.” Google picks products from merchants thatare most relevant to the query. It also considers purchase history and information about user preferences, as well as an item’s availability and proximity. Both companies say there is no favoring of specific retailers — or their own products. Brands also can’t pay for visibility — yet. For now, Amazon and Google are trying to build trust among new — few — voice buyers by making their search results as relevant as possible. It doesn’t, however, take much imagination to see a future in which Amazon or Google merchants could pay to have their products suggested by their smart assistants — like sponsored ads that — as a way to generate more ad dollars. crowd their websites Today, businesses are participating by creating sometimes clever and inventive voice-based brand building experiences, such as HBO’s voice-activated game, in which people use Alexa to explore the mythical Westworld. Other businesses have created their own branded Alexa skills. With , you can get stain removal instructions shared with you through Alexa. Campbell’s offers recipes through . Presumably, these businesses could offer in-skill products if they wanted to, an example being HBO offering a premium-tier Westworld game for purchase. And businesses are optimizing their content to be found through voice search. Westworld Tide’s Stain Remover skill Campbell’s Kitchen Amazon and Google are not the only companies doing the heavy lifting, but they are leading the way to a voice-first world. Smart companies are going with them.

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Why Amazon and Google Are Fighting to Lead the Voice-First Economy

Too Long; Didn't Read

David Deal

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Why Amazon and Google Are Fighting to Lead the Voice-First Economy

Too Long; Didn't Read

David Deal

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THIS ARTICLE WAS FEATURED IN...

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