Why 2017 Will Be the Year of the Virtual Assistant

Curated by Paul Helmick

I’m a Technology CEO and Experienced Entrepreneur. I love helping people use technology to grow their business.

  • Gartner predicts that by 2019 virtual assistants will account for 20% of all smartphone interactions
  • Amazon’s Alexa has taken the world by storm and can now integrate with an estimated 5,000 third-party apps – they have the early lead but lack a mobile device
  • Apple’s Siri has not gotten much love – and even though she’s gotten better Apple does not have a device in the home space as prominently as Amazon
  • Google’s new Google Assistant is found to rival and in many cases surpass its nearest competitors
  • Assistant’s greatest strength may be the ability to answer follow-up questions, a feature many of its rivals lack
  • Integration with Google Home smart speaker puts it squarely in competition with Amazon’s Echo
  • Some researchers believe that Alexa will cede its early lead in the category to Google Assistant by 2020
  • Microsoft’s Cortana is available across its Windows 10-based devices including phones, tablets and PC’s but does not have much adoption lacking a strong mobile or home presence today
  • One thing is clear: nearly every person with a computer, tablet, smartphone, or home speaker system will have access to an AI powered virtual personal assistant in the coming year.

Amazon Echo