40+ Voice Search Stats You Need to Know in 2026 (original) (raw)

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Voice search adoption has grown significantly in the past few years, and this growth is poised to continue through 2026. More and more consumers are using voice to perform search engine queries, find local businesses, make purchase decisions, and more. And when consumers search for local businesses with their voices, they usually engage with those businesses in the same way—by calling. Below, we’ve compiled the top statistics digital marketers need to know to succeed in a voice-first world.

Voice and Voice-Enabled Devices are Experiencing Rapid Growth

• Last year, the total number of active voice assistants surpassed 8.4 billion. You read that right — there now more devices than people on earth (Source: Statista). ‍
• Over half of US residents (58.6%) have tried voice search at least once in their lives. This is a growing trend that marketers should consider when crafting their digital marketing strategies to reach this expanding audience (Source: Yaguara). ‍
• One in five people (21%) use voice search regularly, making it a part of their weekly routine. Knowing that people use voice search for local information and tend to act quickly on those searches highlights the importance of local SEO (Search Engine Optimization) for voice search marketing (Source: Learn.G2).
• Over 1 billion voice searches are performed every month. This number continues to climb over time, as consumers become more familiar with this channel (Source: Yaguara).
• 27% of people use voice search on their mobile devices. Voice search is often apreferred option for consumers who are on the go and want to keep their hands free (Source: Yaguara).‍
• 75% of households are expected to own smart speaker devices by 2025. Marketers need to prepare for a future where voice commerce plays a larger role in consumer buying journeys (Source: Statista).‍
• 34% of people who do not own a voice assistant are interested in purchasing one. Late adopters are poised to grow the smart speaker market (Source: Global Web Index).‍
• While voice search isn't the top activity, it remains a popular choice, ranking sixth among all voice-related tasks. Unsurprisingly, making a call and text were the top two (Source: Blogging Wizard).

Voice-Enabled Device Interaction is Becoming a Part of Consumers’ Day-to-Day Routine

• ‍65% of 25-49-year-olds speak to their voice-enabled devices at least once per day. The 25-49 year old demographic is the most likely to perform daily voice searches, followed closely by 18-24-year-olds, and 50+-year olds, respectively. Though 25-49-year-olds are the most active voice searchers, the 18-24 demographic is credited with helping to drive early adoption of the technology (Source: PwC).

• ‍61% of 25-64-year-olds say they’ll use their voice devices more in the future. The 18-24 demographic mirrors this trend, with 57% saying they’ll increase their voice device usage in the coming years (Source: PwC).‍
• 56% of smartphone users rely on voice search to find information about brands and businesses. In comparison, significantly fewer users (only 28%) use desktop or laptop voice search to find businesses (Source: Yaguara). ‍
• 71% of wearable device owners predict they’ll perform more voice searches in the future. Though wearable users are the most optimistic, tablet and speaker users are not far behind (Source: PwC).

• ‍52% of people keep their voice-activated speakers in their living rooms. 25% keep them in their bedrooms, while 22% keep them in their kitchens (Source: Google).‍
• 93% of consumers are satisfied with their voice assistants. The top benefits consumers cite for using voice speakers are the ability to multitask, get instant answers to questions, and make their lives easier (PwC).‍
• 65% of people who own an Amazon Echo or Google Home can’t imagine going back to the days before they had a smart speaker. For many people, smart speakers are not just devices, but part of a lifestyle (Source: GeoMarketing).‍
• In 2023, 20% of web browsing sessions were screenless. This created a shift in how consumers interact with brands online (Source: Magenest).‍
• Nearly 20% of all voice search queries are triggered by a set of 25 keywords. These consist mainly of question words like “how” or “what” and adjectives like “best” or “easy” (Source: seoClarity).

Consumers Use Voice to Make Purchases

• ‍Voice is expected to be a 45billionchannelby2028∗˙∗Today,voiceshoppingaccountsforover45 billion channel by 2028. Today, voice shopping accounts for over 45billionchannelby2028∗˙∗Today,voiceshoppingaccountsforover3.3 billion in consumer spending. In order to take advantage of this revenue-driving growth opportunity, today’s marketers must understand the voice of their consumers (Source: LinkedIn).‍
• Up to 43% of voice-enabled device owners use their device to shop. Consumers are using their devices to assist with making purchases—regardless of age (Source: Narvar).

• ‍51% of those who shop via voice use it to research products. 22% of those consumers make purchases directly through voice and 17% have used it to reorder items (Source: Narvar).

• ‍11.5% of smart speaker owners make purchases by voice monthly. This equals nearly 5.5 million US adults making purchases via their smart speaker on a regular basis (Source: Voicebot).‍
• 52% of smart speaker owners are interested in receiving info about deals, sales, and promotions from brands. Consumers are open to building relationships with brands via voice channels (Source: Google).
• 38% of consumers report that voice ads are less invasive, and 39% said that voice ads are more tempting than other ads. If you're a marketer looking for innovative new ways to reach customers, consider investing in voice ads (Source: Demand Sage).

Voice Interaction is Directly Linked to Local Search and an Increase in Valuable Phone Calls

• ‍Most voice search results come from the top 3 of traditional web searches. For voice search, ranking high in regular searches is a big advantage! (Source: Learn.G2)‍
• 76% of smart speaker users perform local voice searches at least weekly. 46% of users perform voice searches to look for information on local businesses on a daily basis (Source: BrightLocal).

• ‍58% of consumers use voice search to find local business information. Voice searches are often used to research and locate local businesses because of their convenience for on-the-go customers (Source: Search Engine Journal).‍
• 51% of consumers use voice search to research restaurants. This is the most commonly voice-searched business, though consumers research a broad range of businesses on their voice devices, from hotels to doctors to insurance companies (Source: BrightLocal).

• ‍28% of consumers go on to call the business they voice searched for. This is the most common action following a voice search, since it allows consumers to continue interacting with brands via their voices (Source: BrightLocal).

Inbound Phone Calls Are A Valuable Conversion from Voice Search

• Phone calls convert to 10-15x more revenue than web leads. Calls are one of the most valuable conversions marketers can drive from voice searches. By tracking the calls driven by voice searches, you can measure your full ROI and optimize accordingly (Source: BIA/Kelsey).‍
• Callers convert 30% faster than web leads. Calls provide a more immediate return on your marketing investment (Source: Forrester).‍
• Caller retention rate is 28% higher than web lead retention rate. Driving calls from voice searches is also profitable in the long-term — callers are more loyal than web leads (Source: Forrester).‍
• 84% of marketers report phone calls having higher conversion rates with larger order value (AOV) compared to other forms of engagement. Phone calls are often the most valuable conversions for marketers (Source: Forrester).‍
• 41% of organizations report having increased phone conversion rates by 25% or more in the past 12 months. Not only are consumers calling more due to COVID-19 — they’re also calling with higher intent to make a purchase. Both the volume and value of calls are increasing for many businesses due to COVID-19 (Source: Forrester).‍
• 85% of marketers believe inbound calls and phone conversations are a key component of their organization’s digital-first strategy. Marketers plan to tap into phone call data to better understand their customers and inform their voice search strategies (Source: Forrester).

Conversation Analytics Data from Phone Calls Helps Marketers Deliver Better Personalization and Drive Revenue

• ‍48% of marketers have provided or expect to provide enhanced customer experiences as a result of scaling conversation analytics across the enterprise. With conversation analytics data, marketers can enhance voice search rankings and experiences based on the content of phone conversations (Source: Forrester).‍
• 43% of marketers have improved or expect to improve customer acquisition and retention as a result of scaling conversation analytics across the enterprise. When you tailor consumer experiences based on the content of their phone conversations, you better meet their needs and earn their loyalty (Source: Forrester).‍
• Marketers who have scaled conversation analytics across the enterprise have seen or expect to see improved analytics efficiency, increased business efficiency, improved employee productivity, and seamless integration with existing systems. Conversation analytics allows marketers to get smarter insights into their consumers and make more informed decisions to drive efficiency (Source: Forrester).

Personalizing the Caller Experience Can Increase Voice Search Conversions

• ‍72% of consumers say they only engage with marketing messages that are customized to their specific interests. Marketers who take into account their consumers’ past brand experiences — online and over the phone — have more success (Source: SmarterHQ).‍
• 80% of customers say the experience a company provides is as important as its products and services. If you fail to provide seamless experiences that make your customers feel valued and known, they’ll likely take their business elsewhere (Source: Salesforce).‍
• 83% of consumers say they require a positive experience to remain loyal to a brand — regardless of the channel they’re engaging on. Marketers will lose out on lifetime revenue if they fail to provide seamless call experiences (Source: Glassbox Digital).
• 76% of consumers say they'll stop doing business with a company after just one bad experience. You have only one shot to win your customers over before they go to a competitor instead (Source: Invoca).

So, How Can You Drive More Calls and Customers from Voice Search?

• Voice searches are longer than traditional text searches. Optimize your content for long-tail keywords and queries likely to be spoken aloud.
• Voice search keywords and queries differ from traditional text searches, but the same SEO principles apply. Adhere to SEO best practices to ensure you rank high.
• Optimize for local searches by providing an easily accessible phone number and address, updating your Google business listing, and adding “near me” in the title tags, meta description, and anchor text.
• Mine calls to your business for the questions consumers ask before buying. Add them to your website to improve SEO and CRO.
• Analyze calls from voice search to determine if you should retarget the caller and with what ad campaign.
• Analyze call conversations to measure how well each location converts callers to customers — and what tactics work best — and share best practices.

To learn about how Invoca can help you enhance your search marketing strategy, request your personalized demo of the platform.