Survey: People use voice controls for hands free (and for fun)

Voice controls aren’t just for smart speakers. Pew Research Center surveyed U.S. adults who use voice assistants and learned that 46% said they use the technology to interact with smartphones and other devices. The most common device was a smartphone, leading with 42% of respondents, followed by computers and tablets at 14%. The “stand-alone device” category includes smart speakers, and that secured 8% of the participants.

Pew’s results showed heavier use of voice controls among the participants aged 18 to 49, where the rate was 55%, compared with the over 50 respondents, who posted a 37% rate.

The survey asked about the reasons why people wanted to use voice assistants. Hands-free use of a device was a major reason for 55% and a minor reason for 28%, making it the most common response overall. The next most common major reasons were that spoken language feels more natural than typing, and, amusingly, that voice controls are fun. On the flip side, for the survey respondents who don’t use this technology, 61% said they opt not too because they simply aren’t interested.