We hear a lot of hype about voice search, but how is it really changing the way consumers and brands interact? Is it creating new behaviors, or merely facilitating existing ones through a new medium? This session will aim to go beyond the hype to look at the role voice search plays in different territories, with a clear view on what brands can do differently to achieve better results.

2. The Global Role
of Voice Search
March 2019
CLARK BOYD

4. The Next 30 Minutes
Consumer Trends
-US/Europe
-Asia/Latin America/Africa
The Technology
- Speech recognition
- Next steps
How Brands Should Prepare
-Structure
-Style

5. The more a user interface is able to replicate
how humans interact with the world, the more
our interactions with computers will come to
feel natural and intuitive.
Tom Ward
WIRED

6. How We Learn to Communicate
LISTEN

7. How We Learn to Communicate
LISTEN SPEAK

8. How We Learn to Communicate
LISTEN SPEAK READ

9. How We Learn to Communicate
LISTEN SPEAK READ WRITE

10. Online, We Have Done the Opposite
WRITE

11. READ
Then We Read the Results and Replies

12. SPEAK
Over Time, We Have Started to Speak

13. LISTEN
And Finally, We Are Listening to Machines
Would you
like to hear a
joke?

14. Global
Trends

15. Voice Assistant Penetration
2017 2018
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
2017 2018
6%
4%
2%
0%
2017 2018
4%
3%
2%
1%
0%
2017 2018
3%
2%
1%
0%
2017 2018
4%
10%
5%
0%
+7% +3% +4% +5% +3%
16%
HOUSEHOLDS WITH 1+ SMART SPEAKER
4% 8%
11%
4%
GSMA Intelligence Consumer Survey, 2018

16. Smart Speaker Market Share - Global
Amazon
32%
Google
30%
Others
17%
Alibaba
11%
Xiaomi
10%

17. Voice Assistant Uses
0% 25% 50% 75%
MOST COMMON ACTIONS IN USA
Adobe Research, 2019
Play Music
Check Weather
Ask Fun Questions
Make Purchase

19. Projected smartphone user growth
2016-2021:
- North America: 47M (+18%)
- Western Europe: 34M (+12%)
- Latin America: 144M (+71%)
- Middle East and Africa: 272M (+62%)
- APAC: 226M (+64%)
- India: 374M (+165%)
- China: 231M (+34%)

20. INDIA IS GOING TO BE THE WORLD’S FIRST
VOICE-DRIVEN INTERNET MARKET.
Rajan Anandan
VP, Google - South-east Asia and India

23. Voice Search User
● Speaking is more natural, but we are
accustomed to typing search queries.
● Voice is used for actions, quick answers,
reminders.
● Normally preferred when a screen is not
required, or when hands are not free.
● Worldwide, voice is helping get more people
access to digital services.
● A new audience is moving online and voice-first
will be less alien for them.

24. What's Next For Voice
Search Technology?
A PATENT'S NOT A PRODUCT, BUT
IT'S STILL PRETTY REVEALING.

25. 7%
OF OUR MESSAGE IS
COMMUNICATED THROUGH THE
WORDS WE USE
(MEHRABIAN,
2007)
What we
say
How we
say it

26. Bijou Solutions, Inc. |
2020

28. 1.
2.
3. Little Billy's
going for the
cookies, I
reckon.
Thanks,
Google!
*Not to scale.

30. Voice Search Technology
TODAY
● Accuracy has passed the 95% threshold. Google
understands over 30 languages; Amazon
between 5-10.
● Screen integration is limited; so too are
advertising options, as a result.
TOMORROW
● Word recognition is just the start. 93% of our
message resides in how we speak.
● When technology becomes ambient, the options
for suggesting products will proliferate.

31. How to Approach Voice
Strategy

32. Structure
THE RIGHT MESSAGE; THE RIGHT
MEDIUM

33. HOME
PRODUCT
The traditional,
linear journey
through a website.
CATEGORY

35. Home
Category
Product
A digital assistant will pull the
content from wherever it can
find it.
Is an Amex card
expensive?

38. Style
HOW YOU SAY IT

40. Should I get a
Barclaycard
credit card?
"A credit card is a convenient
and flexible way of borrowing
money, which lets you make
purchases that you can pay for
in the future.
Before you take out a credit
card, it’s important to be aware
of the potential costs and
ensure that you only borrow
what you can afford to pay
back. To get the most out of
your credit card it’s important
you’re able to meet your
payment dates and ideally pay
in full every month."
*A real example, Google UK

41. Context is key: "Dinner ideas"

44. Voice Search Content
STRUCTURE
● Consider the most suitable content formats based
on the audience’s context. Tie these together in an
entity graph for your brand.
● Use structured data, but also think about the
structure of your content for the user.
STYLE
● Developing a brand voice is now an SEO task. If
content is read out, it needs to stand out too.
● Take advantage of Google’s tools to understand
how its NLP algorithms work.

46. GET IN TOUCH!
LINKEDIN
https://www.linkedin.com/in/clark-boyd-digital/
PHONE NUMBER
+44 7378 979 481 / +1 347 472 2020
EMAIL ADDRESS
clark@candid.digital