Almost every driver (95%) will be using an in-car voice assistant within the next three years, a new study suggests.
The Capgemini Research Institute surveyed more than 7,000 consumers in France, Germany, India, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, the UK and the United States. It found that half (49%) are using voice assistants in their vehicles for a variety of functions, including to play music and check directions (77%), book appointments for their vehicle to be serviced (46%), and order specific services such as food (45%).
Within the next three years, 95% of consumers expect to be using a conversational assistant, including a voice assistant in the car to access information, and 54% expect to use them “all the time”.
Over a third of consumers (37%) said they would be willing to pay a premium or monthly subscription for a voice service installed or embedded in their car and 48% said they might consider this in the future.
However, the research also highlighted areas where automotive companies need to improve the experience to meet user expectations.
When asked to rate their experience using in-car voice assistants, only 28% described it as “great”, with 59% agreeing that it was “satisfactory, but the experience needs to be improved”. A clear majority believe improvement is needed when using voice assistants to integrate with at-home systems such as temperature control (63%), providing feedback or making complaints (61%), ordering mobility services (60%), and booking vehicle service appointments (60%).
Automotive companies must also address concerns over privacy and data security, Capgemini said. In the survey, 50% of consumers said they do not trust voice assistants with their personal data, and 48% that they are too intrusive and seek too much personal information.
“This report demonstrates how the automotive industry should be using voice as a strategic asset both to build customer engagement and grow revenues with connected services over time,” said Markus Winkler, global head of automotive at Capgemini.
“To make further progress, the industry needs to educate consumers about voice capabilities and data security. It must build adaptability and personalisation but also more intelligence to achieve better situational relevance and better integration between in-car and at-home voice assistants to maximise value.”
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