Smart Speaker Users By Generation

Chart: Smart Speaker Users By Generation

Voice technology ought to have appeal for older Boomers, whose ability to read a small screen and manipulate a tiny virtual keyboard may be declining.

Yet Boomers who own smartphones have lagged in using the voice assistant capability.

eMarketer estimates that 38.6% of smartphone Boomers will use the voice assistant this year, vs. 49.0% of Gen Xers and 53.1% of Millennials.

According to a September 2019 AARP survey, penetration of such devices was lowest among the oldest Boomers (who might benefit from them most)—falling from 11% among 50- to 59-year-olds, to 10% among 60- to 69-year-olds and to 7% among those ages 70 and older.

Boomers also lag in adopting smart speakers, which bump up against their chronic worry about digital privacy.

eMarketer expects just 17.6% of Boomers to own smart speakers this year, barely half the device’s penetration among Gen Xers. Read the rest at eMarketer.

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