Strong Worldwide Growth Ahead for Virtual Assistants, Analysts Say

Virtual assistant analysts predicted continued robust momentum through 2023 based on strong consumer demand and improvements in enabling technologies. Virtual assistants are on course to penetrate one in two devices sold annually by 2023, said Futuresource Monday, pegging global shipments at more than 2.3 billion units, up from 1.1 billion units in 2019. Canalys forecast the installed base of smart assistant devices -- either built-in or compatible -- in China alone will reach 5.8 billion devices by 2023, doubling that of the U.S. market. It estimated the installed base of devices with smart assistants built-in will reach 2.2 billion units in China during the forecast period, led by the smartphone. Some 3.6 billion devices such as air conditioners, door locks, TVs and refrigerators will be voice assistant-compatible, controllable by a smart assistant over a network via a smart speaker or similar device, it said Monday. In China, smart appliances will play a major role in the vision of the ideal home, as the growing middle class continues to pursue a higher standard of living, said analyst Cynthia Chen, highlighting Haier, TCL and Hisense as companies that identified the trend early on. Leading smart assistants in China are Xiaodu, Tmall Genie and XiaoAI.