Tomorrow, we’ll finally see Amazon’s (previously delayed) Alexa upgrade event, where Amazon is expected to announce generative AI capabilities for the voice assistant, allowing Alexa to understand natural language more easily and hold full conversations with users, among other potential tricks. As our consumer tech writer Samantha Kelly noted, “If announced, this would mark Alexa’s most significant evolution since its debut in 2014.”
A recent CNET survey found, however, that consumer sentiment is having trust issues with smarter smart home devices. Over 2,000 US adults were asked questions about how they feel about voice assistants in devices like Amazon Echo.
Key findings of CNET’s home voice assistant survey
Home voice assistant usage: Half of US adults (50%) have used a home voice assistant this year (since Jan. 1). Amazon Alexa is the most popular among US adults (27%).
AI: Nearly 3 in 4 (73%) home voice assistant users have privacy concerns about AI integrations on smart home voice assistants and more than half (56%) would not be willing to pay an extra subscription fee for additional AI features.
Trust: Trust around AI features slightly differs by brand among all US respondents, with Amazon (Alexa) being the most trusted (27%). Gen Z (61%) and millennials (56%) are the most trusting of brands regarding AI in voice assistants.
Features: Among those that have used a voice assistant so far this year, “ask a quick question” is the most common functionality (64%), followed by speakers, music and entertainment (49%), set timers (42%), set reminders (36%) and make calls to others (29%).
How will Amazon’s Alexa handle consumer resistance to AI and smart home? We could see new versions of Alexa Emergency Assist, a new approach to Alexa Skills, more smart home integrations — or even (fingers crossed) new Amazon Echo devices. Our earlier coverage noted that reports show that Amazon is interested in charging users a subscription for these new features, which, according to our survey, more than half of survey respondents said they would not pay anything extra for it.
