Hey Google and Alexa How Do I Talk OEM Speak?—Study Finds Automaker Voices Are Falling Behind

Strategy Analytics – Smart speakers are becoming more and more ubiquitous worldwide and by natural extension, finding their way in-vehicle. With the exception of Google Assistant, Western Europe is now ahead of both the US and China in terms of interest in having an in-vehicle voice assistant engineered by a mobile/home-based tech company. Comparatively, consumers in China have most confidence in OEMs’ ability to deliver a compelling experience for an in-vehicle digital assistant. The interest in automaker-based voice assistants is overall well behind the offerings from Amazon, Google, Apple and Samsung.

A new report from the Strategy Analytics’ In-Vehicle UX (IVX) service, “Consumer Interest in Car-based Voice Assistants”, surveyed consumers in the US, Western Europe and China regarding their interest in voice-based digital assistants for in-car use. Automakers continue to lag behind home/mobile tech providers with regard to perception of delivering a compelling voice experience. However, this perception varies significantly across brands.

Commented Diana Franganillo, report author and Director, IVX, “Consumers in China have more confidence than Westerners in OEMs’ ability to deliver compelling experiences for an in-vehicle digital assistant, particularly when compared to consumers in the US. Interest in all branded voice assistants continues to fluctuate in the US, although it has stabilized in Western Europe. Some OEM-branded voice assistants do provide a compelling experience but overall, OEM assistants fall short when compared to those from big tech companies.”

Added Chris Schreiner, Director, Syndicated Research UXIP, “The advent and increased adoption of Android Automotive OS should reduce automakers’ future investments towards developing their bespoke branded products and allow them to focus on their unique selling points. Whilst branding is an important aspect, the ability to talk to the same embodiment outside and inside the car using the same utterances is most important to the user experience – the mobile/home-based tech companies already have an established reputation with this.”

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