AI Personal Assistants Survey: Few Plan to Increase Usage

AI (artificial intelligence) personal assistants like Apple’s Siri and Microsoft’s Cortana have gained significant popularity in recent years. Those voice assistants, available on a variety of different tech devices, can help with a number of different tasks from driving directions to general questions. In fact, the Pew Research Center recently conducted a study where some experts claimed that AI technology like those assistants will be integrated into nearly every aspect of people’s daily lives by 2025. So how many people currently use AI personal assistants? We asked 1,000 respondents what they think about the technology and how it has impacted their lives.

Tech Consumers

In Ask Your Target Market’s latest survey, 70% of respondents said that they currently own a laptop computer. 65% own a smartphone. 58% own a desktop computer. And 49% own a tablet. Just 3% of respondents said that they don’t own any of those devices. Overall, 9% of respondents said that they’ve used AI personal assistants like Siri or Cortana in the past day. Another 9% have used them within the past week. 7% have used them in the past month. Another 7% have used them in the past three months. 6% have used them in the past year. 4% said that it’s been over a year since they last used any AI personal assistants. And 58% of respondents never use AI personal assistants. Of those who own smartphones, just 47% said that they don’t use any AI assistants. So that group is more likely to have used them and to use them regularly.

AI Personal Assistants

Siri was the most popular AI assistant among respondents; 45% of those who have used AI personal assistants said they’ve used Siri. 33% have used Google Now. 27% used Microsoft’s Cortana. 10% have used Amazon Echo or Alexa. 4% have used BlackBerry Assistant. And 5% have used others like Samsung’s S Voice. Overall, 56% of those who have used AI voice assistants said they’ve been at least somewhat satisfied with them. In general, 54% of users agreed that AI personal assistants make their lives easier. 31% said that AI assistants are part of their everyday lives. 65% agreed that they have many different uses. However, 50% think that some people use AI personal assistants too much.

Future Growth

Currently, 65% of users said that they regularly ask general questions to their AI personal assistants. 40% use them to get directions while they drive. 25% use them to make calls. 23% dictate texts or emails through those assistants. 17% use them to receive updates. And 9% use them in other ways, like for weather alerts and appointment reminders.Looking forward, 51% of respondents think that AI personal assistants are at least somewhat likely to increase in popularity over the next five years. However, just 30% said that they are likely to either start using or increase their use of AI personal assistants in that time frame.

Key Takeaways

While more than half of people think that AI personal assistants are poised to gain popularity in the coming years, few actually plan to increase their own use. So for the tech companies that offer AI features like Siri and Cortana, showcasing the usefulness of those tools could be helpful in getting more people on board. More than half of those who currently use AI assistants say that those tools make their lives easier, which could be a selling point for those who have yet to try them or who have tried them in the past but weren’t satisfied. In addition, some potential users could be unaware of the many different uses. And others could feel that the technology is inaccessible to them if they don’t own smartphones. So for those companies that make the technology available on other platforms like laptops or tablets, it could be worth calling attention to that availability. You can view the complete survey results in the widget below and be sure to click “Open Full Report” to take advantage of all the chart and filter options.Photo Credit: Nokia Lumia 635 Cortana by Bhupinder Nayyar under CC BY 2.0What do you want to know? If you need some consumer insights on a particular topic, let us know in the comments below and we’ll consider it for an upcoming survey post.

Results were collected on June 28 via AYTM’s online survey panel.