The use of mobile voice search has more than doubled over the last 12 months and as you might expect it is young people that are leading the way. A greater percentage of teenagers use Google’s voice search feature than do adults.
Popular With Everyone
According to the results of Google’s Mobile Voice Study, which was conducted by Northstar Research, 55 percent of teens use Google voice search more than once a day – compared to just 41 percent of adults. These results come from a 1,400 person survey which included people from a wide range of demographics.
Of the 41 percent of adults who use Google voice search more than once a day, 56 percent say that it makes them feel tech savvy. People of all age groups report that they like to use voice search because it helps them to multi-task. Common occasions for using voice search include while watching TV, using the bathroom and even when cooking.
Not all of those features are search-specific. Many of the Google voice features simply make it easier for people to operate their phones. However, these features are still incredibly useful, as can be seen by the sheer number of Android device owners who are taking advantage of them. Adoption is only likely to grow as more and more people opt to use the web on their phones instead of their desktop devices.
Not Just Search
Teens are happy to use voice search while they are with their friends, however adults do not feel comfortable using the service while they are in the company of others. There are many different reasons why people use Google voice search. Teens tend to use it to make it easier to call people, to ask for directions, search for movie times, play songs, and get help with homework questions. Adults, on the other hand, like to use the feature to ask for directions, dictate texts, check the time and make calls.
When asked what other features people wished that they could access using Google voice search, 45 percent of teens and 36 percent of adults said that they wish their phones could automatically send them pizza. Of course, you could search for the best pizza shops in your area using your phone, but that’s not quite the same as placing an automatic order. Perhaps that feature will be the next addition to the Google knowledge graph.
