The latest data shows a 29.6% increase in smart speaker voice assistant use in 2022 vs 2020 (total U.S. adult online population.) Below we recap the top three charts and related stats from one of the most respected industry reports, The Smart Audio Report, presented by Edison Research and NPR in June 2022 (download the full report for free here).
Smartphones and smart speakers remain the top two devices for voice assistant interaction, followed by TV / TV remote and in the car.
2022 voice assistant use by device (by U.S. adults online):
- Smartphones: 56% (up from 51% in 2020) –> this is a 9.8% increase
- Smart speakers: 35% (up from 27% in 2020) –> this is a 29.6% increase
How many U.S. adults own a smart speaker in 2022?
Stats on the percentage of people who own a smart speaker vary between sources, and always have. We have seen some predictive data suggesting nearly half of adults have a smart speaker. This 35% figure seems conservative.
Regardless of owning a smart speaker, everyone with a smartphone has access to the top three voice assistants:
- Alexa (in the Amazon mobile app or Alexa mobile app – both free)
- Google Assistant (either natively on Android or through the free Google Assistant app on iOS)
- Siri (natively on iOS, not available on Android)
Streaming audio and podcast listening habits have really shifted to hands-free in the last five years:
Streaming audio and podcast listening devices, 2022 vs 2017, U.S. audience over age 18:
- Share of time listening to audio through a smart speaker: +400%
- Share of time listening to podcasts through a smart speaker: +200%
People are using voice assistants on multiple devices more in 2022 than ever before. Smartphones and smart speakers remain the top two devices for voice assistants like Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant, with the top use case at 56% of U.S. adults using a voice assistant on their smartphone in 2022.
More key findings from the Smart Audio Report 2022:
- “86% of smart speaker owners agree that the devices “allow for a more convenient living”.
- Voice technology is everywhere: In 2022, 62% of Americans 18+ use a voice assistant on any device, and those devices can include: smart speakers, smartphones, TV remotes, in-car systems, a computer/laptop, tablet, among others.
- Overall usage of voice tech is increasing: In 2022, 57% of voice command users use voice commands daily. 20% of smart speaker owners spend most of their audio time listening through a smart speaker, up from 18% in 2017.
- The weekly number of tasks is increasing: In 2022, smart speaker owners request an average of 12.4 tasks on their device each week, up from 7.5 in 2017. Smartphone voice assistant users request an average of 10.7 tasks weekly, up from 8.8 in 2020.
- The number of speaker owners who request to listen to a podcast on their smart speaker in a typical week increased by 22% over the past 5 years.
- Reasons for purchasing a smart speaker that have trended up in the past five years include:
–entertaining children
–discovering new songs
-listening to podcasts“
