Research Finds 76% Of U.S. Drivers Likely To Use Voice Generative AI Capabilities In Their Vehicles

SoundHound AI study of vehicle owners also found that more than 4 in 5 prospective car buyers would now actively choose a vehicle that has AI-powered features over one that doesn't

SoundHound AI, Inc. (Nasdaq: SOUN), a global leader in voice artificial intelligence, today announced the results of an independent survey of United States vehicle owners, which found that the vast majority of regular drivers – almost 4 in 5 – are likely to use a voice assistant with voice generative AI capabilities if available.

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SoundHound AI announced the results of an independent survey of United States vehicle owners, which found that the vast majority of regular drivers – almost 4 in 5 – are likely to use a voice assistant with voice generative AI capabilities if available. (Graphic: Business Wire)

While 76% of drivers surveyed have access to an in-vehicle voice assistant (with 86% of voice assistant users using it weekly), until now, the use cases for these assistants have been relatively contained to in-vehicle controls, navigation, and calls.

Now new research reveals that U.S. drivers are ready for supercharged assistants with new AI-powered capabilities that promise to bring a whole new world of functionality to drivers through natural conversation.

These new voice generative AI functionalities include being able to place food orders and complete other transactions hands-free from the car dashboard, using the assistant instead of a car manual to better understand and operate car features and address maintenance issues, and even using the in-vehicle voice assistant to summarize text or email threads to aid productivity on-the-go.

Key findings:

• 76% of U.S. drivers surveyed said they were likely to use voice generative AI capabilities in their car if it was available (a 52% increase from last year)
  • This figure rises to 82% of the 35-44 age range, and 84% of the 21-34 age range
• 74% of all U.S. respondents said they’d be willing to pay a fee or be served ads in order to get access
• 81% of U.S. car owners who stated they were planning on purchasing or leasing a car in the next 12 months said they would choose are car that has AI features over one that doesn’t

Sophisticated AI-powered voice assistants promise to help drivers and passengers unlock existing vehicle features using only speech, as well as introducing a whole range of new and enhanced capabilities that bring new levels of convenience, practicality, and entertainment to the car.

The report also found that nearly 2 in 5 U.S. drivers currently find car features too complicated, with 50% finding common applications like GPS navigation difficult and frustrating.

How do users make the most of voice generative AI capabilities?

The study tested ideas for new and enhanced in-vehicle features for drivers, including:

• In-vehicle food ordering: 71% said they’d be interested in this AI feature
  
  Voice assistant allows the driver to easily order food along their route so it’s ready when they arrive. (See SoundHound’s vision for a voice ecosystem)
  • Order food from popular chains while you drive
  • Pay automatically with credit card on file
  • Food is timed to be ready for pick-up when you arrive at the restaurant

• Vehicle management: 85% said they’d be interested in this AI feature
  
  Voice assistant helps you navigate alerts and navigate your way around car features
  • When alerts pop up, you can ask the assistant the meaning behind alert
  • Assists with scheduling a vehicle service for maintenance
  • Brings the vehicle manual to life for drivers with responses to questions about how to use certain vehicle features

• Stay in touch: 76% said they’d be interested in this AI feature
  
  Voice assistant summarizes text threads, places calls, and communicates like never before:
  • Let AI voice assistant do the talking for you on quick calls like ETA updates
  • Hear a simple summary of a complicated group text thread
  • Get the real-time news, weather, and sports you care about most

“This survey data is consistent with what we’ve been seeing from real drivers using voice generative AI out on the road. Over the last 12 months of deployment, it’s become clear that those early users really see the value,” said Mike Zagorsek, COO and Automotive lead at SoundHound AI. “In some cases, we’ve seen voice assistant usage increasing five-fold compared to a traditional vehicle voice assistant. This tells us that AI-powered technology is making a significant impact and is here to stay.”

Last year, SoundHound was the first AI company in the world to launch a vehicle assistant with generative AI capabilities. The software is now in production with a range of automakers globally in multiple languages, with the assistant processing multiple millions of queries in the last 12 months.

The company commissioned this new survey from Big Village as part of a strategic program undertaken with Vivaldi to unlock new use cases for the voice generative AI technology and drive value for both OEMs and drivers.

Learn more about SoundHound AI Automotive solutions visit www.soundhound.com/voice-ai-solutions/automotive/.

About SoundHound AI

SoundHound (Nasdaq: SOUN), a global leader in conversational intelligence, offers voice and conversational AI solutions that let businesses offer incredible experiences to their customers. Built on proprietary technology, SoundHound’s voice AI delivers best-in-class speed and accuracy in numerous languages to product creators and service providers across retail, financial services, healthcare, automotive, smart devices, and restaurants via groundbreaking AI-driven products like Smart Answering, Smart Ordering, Dynamic Drive Thru, and Amelia AI Agents. Along with SoundHound Chat AI, a powerful voice assistant with integrated Generative AI, SoundHound powers millions of products and services, and processes billions of interactions each year for world class businesses.

About Big Village

This survey was conducted from September 5-23, 2024 among 1136 regular drivers aged 21-65 in the United States, who primarily drive cars from model year 2018 or newer.

Big Village Insights is a global research and analytics business uncovering not just the ‘what’ but the ‘why’ behind customer behavior, supporting clients’ insights needs with agile tools, CX research, branding, product innovation, data & analytics, and more. Big Village Insights is part of Bright Mountain Media. Find out more at https://big-village.com/.

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