New data from Parks Associates (www.parksassociates.com) shows that 49% of U.S. broadband households use a personal assistant through an app or dedicated device, which is a key use case for a voice-based user experience. Currently 10% of U.S. broadband households own a smart speaker with a personal assistant, such as an Amazon Echo or Google Home, notes the research group.

“Collectively, companies are competing to stay in the race for dominance in the voice-first market," said Dina Abdelrazik, research analyst, Parks Associates. "Amazon, Google, Apple, Microsoft, and Samsung continue to announce new product enhancements in order to stay ahead of the demand for voice technologies. As the voice-first landscape expands, we will see voice capabilities embedded into a variety of devices, from appliances to thermostats to lighting. Voice alleviates complexity in the user experience for these products, and as a result, voice will serve as a prime differentiator in the user experience for the smart home."