The 2017 Voice Report
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
by:
2voicelabs.co
In 2016, Amazon Echo evolved from novelty to in-the-home powerhouse, with over
seven million devices in households. Google Home launched in November, legitimizing
a multi-platform ecosystem of voice-frst devices. These two devices are simply the start
of a much bigger future, where consumers will enjoy a more natural way of interacting
with machines - conversational voice.
Using only your voice, you can now seamlessly play music, turn on your lights, order
a pizza and get breaking news. While early innovation is about taking phone and
mobile app use cases and porting them to voice-frst platforms, in 2017 we will see
unique voice-frst experiences that will take the world by storm. Get ready for always
communicable family members, a personalized home assistant that makes life easier,
and a conversational device that anticipates your needs.
As Mary Meeker pointed out in her 2016 Trends Report, voice commands to your
phone are increasing. However, until we had an always-on, dedicated voice
device, the Amazon Echo, the voice-frst market did not exist.
VoiceLabs provides Voice Experience Analytics, and is the most widely used Analytics
service for Amazon Alexa and Google Home developers. In the past year, we have been
fortunate to work with hundreds of voice developers and partner with both Amazon
A voice-frst device is an always-on, intelligent piece of hardware
where the primary interface is voice, both input and output.
3voicelabs.co
and Google in this exciting space. VoiceLabs created The Voice Report to help defne
this emerging market, provide data insights on key attributes of the ecosystem, and
highlight both the impressive growth and areas for improvement.
This is the Executive Summary of VoiceLabs’ 36-page 2017 Voice Report, highlighting
key analysis and predictions. For granular methodology, more information and
additional insights, email info@voicelabs.co.
Outline of The Voice Report:
Hardware, AI Software, Applications, Ecosystem
The Voice-First Stack
The Voice Report follows the same progression as the voice-frst stack, starting with the
underlying hardware devices and working its way up.
The hardware encapsulates the consumer experience, but is nothing without intelli-
gent software. The artifcial intelligence assistants guide consumers on what is possible
and how to interact, provide a core set of capabilities, then hand-of experiences to
third-party applications to extend the experience. The third-party applications take care
of consumers and enable them to interact with the brands and services they know and
love. Finally, the ecosystem services bolster the applications, and make the ecosystem
fywheel turn to provide additional value to all.
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We will cover each section discretely, and show how they all come together to bolster
this ecosystem.
Below are some of the takeaways from the 2017 Voice Report. For more information on
the voice-frst market, email info@voicelabs.co.
Hardware:
Voice-frst devices get closer to mainstream in 2017
In 2015, there were 1.7 million voice-frst devices shipped1. In 2016, there were
6.5 million devices shipped2.
In 2017, there will be 24.5 million devices shipped, leading to a total
footprint of 33 million voice-frst devices in circulation.
Voice-First Device Footprint
VoiceLabs analysis combined with research from CIRP, KPCB and InfoScout
This is a large and growing market, and both Google Home and Amazon Echo
will be huge business successes. However, VoiceLabs surveyed consumers who already
own a Google Home or Amazon Echo, and only 11% of respondents will also buy a
competing device. Therefore, while not a winner-take-all market, in 2017 VoiceLabs
predicts it will be a winner-take-entire-household market. This puts pressure on
the hardware providers to distribute devices quickly. Amazon excels at selling third-par-
ty hardware and consumer electronics, giving it an advantage in this distribution race.
1 Analysis from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP).
2 VoiceLabs analysis utilizing consumer purchase data from InfoScout combined with research from CIRP and KPCB.
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The caveat is that today, consumers see all devices the same. In reality, these devices
are quickly specializing - see section below. When the specialization becomes
diferentiated enough, more households will purchase multiple platforms.
AI Software:
The Intelligence Inside
Jef Dunn of Business Insider did a great comparison and showcased where certain
AI Assistants diferentiate, but right now these small diferences are not pronounced
enough to sway the consumer3.
AI Assistants have started to specialize, and this will become more
pronounced in 2017.
to general knowledge questions.
Cortana experience on the Xbox.
All players will battle to become the go to controller of the kitchen, living room
and bedroom.
Specialization is important because consumers do not buy hardware,
they buy delightful experiences.
As we watch Amazon specialize in commerce, it opens up opportunities for third-parties
to build commerce-related applications, like predictive and on-demand meal delivery.
3 Consumer survey conducted by VoiceLabs, showing equal afnity for Amazon Echo and Google Home.
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