Hello Voice: The Implications for News
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Nic Newman presents research on the implications of voice technology and smart speakers for news. Some key findings include: - Smart speaker ownership is growing faster than smartphones at a similar stage, with around 30 million users in the US. However, people primarily use voice assistants for basic tasks like weather, music, and timers rather than news. - Broadcasters dominate the default news sources on devices due to their high trust and expectations for audio news. Few people change the defaults. - News usage is split between interactive conversations, brief news updates, and passive radio/podcast listening. Publishers struggle with developing voice strategies due to lack of resources, path to monetization, discovery challenges, and lack of usage data.
![10
Privacy concern: the biggest barrier ….
“I’m not sure if I’m okay with it coming with
me everywhere I go and listening to my every
conversation.”
Potential user
“[My brother’s] got one but won’t use it
[due to privacy concerns with voice].”
Existing Alexa user, UK
Others, less bothered ……
“But you’re already being monitored when you
post certain things on Facebook, for example.”
Potential user
“I’ve got nothing to keep secret. I don’t have any
nude photos, I’m not a terrorist, I don’t care.”
Existing Alexa user](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/futureofvoiceslides-181115123728/85/Hello-Voice-The-Implications-for-News-10-320.jpg)
![Passive radio listening more popular than podcasts..
“I’m not sure how much I would listen to it there [on a smart speaker], because podcasts are
the sort of thing I would listen to on a train”
(Focus Group, UK)
19% of NPR’s online radio listening is now from smart speakers – this is
additional](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/futureofvoiceslides-181115123728/85/Hello-Voice-The-Implications-for-News-16-320.jpg)
Hello Voice: The Implications for News
- 1. @risj_oxford Nic Newman November 2018 Hello Voice …. THE IMPLICATIONS FOR NEWS
- 2. The backstory …. 12 countries AMAZON ECHO GOOGLE HOME 19 countries APPLE HOMEPOD 8 countries 201 4 201 6 201 8
- 3. This is not just about smart speakers In home, in ear, in car, in everything
- 4. Recap of the rationale… Little is known about how voice tech devices are used Little is known about barriers to adoption – and for news usage Little is known about how news works in this environment
- 5. UNITED KINGDOM UNITED STATES GERMANY 4 x in home depth 2 x focus groups 4 x in home depth 2 x focus groups 2 x focus groups Survey 3000 nat rep + 1000 smart speaker boost Survey 3000 nat rep + 500 smart speaker boost 10 publisher interviews 7 publisher interviews 5 publisher interviews REST OF WORLD 4 publisher interviews Methodology
- 6. Smart speaker growth Growing faster than the smartphone at a similar stage. Around 30m already using them in the US.
- 7. People love their smart speakers Thrill Useful FunSpeed Satisfaction of feeling ‘futuristic’ Enabling new behaviours Playing games with speaker and others Making tasks quicker/reduci ng friction • This was consistent across the UK, USA and Germany • Most were looking to get more devices in future • Older people find them really easy to use, pathway to digital
- 8. Many see voice as a chance to de-clutter It may kill the remote control TECHNOLOGY HAS MADE LIFE TOO COMPLICATED – VOICE CAN CUT THROUGH THAT
- 9. But, they are currently using voice in limited ways .. COMMAND AND CONTROL … • What is the weather in Edinburgh ? • Turn on BBC Radio Scotland .. • Play George Ezra .. • Set a timer for 10 minutes .. It is replacing radios and alarm clocks But people get frustrated when they try to do anything more complex
- 10. 10 Privacy concern: the biggest barrier …. “I’m not sure if I’m okay with it coming with me everywhere I go and listening to my every conversation.” Potential user “[My brother’s] got one but won’t use it [due to privacy concerns with voice].” Existing Alexa user, UK Others, less bothered …… “But you’re already being monitored when you post certain things on Facebook, for example.” Potential user “I’ve got nothing to keep secret. I don’t have any nude photos, I’m not a terrorist, I don’t care.” Existing Alexa user
- 12. 12 84% 66% 58% 56% 46% 35% 25% 21% 13% 11% 9% 61% 6% 4% 7% 1% 7% 3% 0% 1% 0% 1% Play music Answer general questions Weather updates Set alarms/ reminders News updates Interact with other smart devices Memos/ lists Sync with calendar/ schedule Read audiobooks Games Order products online Use regularly Most valued News is not as important as we might hope…. Base: All that own a smart speaker & are aware of its features n = 185 MIND THE GAP News widely used, but less valued THREE TYPES OF NEWS USAGE • Interactive/conversational • News updates • Live radio and podcasts
- 13. News is not as important as we might hope .. Give me the headlines – Less than one in five owners are using Flash Briefing daily. Easy to get news on other devices, content, tone, length not right yet ….
- 14. 14 Power of the default …. Broadcasters in general dominate Default, high trust, expectations around audio Few people care enough to change the default (23%) 2% 2% 2% 3% 3% 3% 4% 5% 5% 6% 9% 9% 10% 19% 64% Telegraph News Bloomberg Buzzfeed News Reuters Yahoo News My local… News from my… Financial Times Economist LBC News Guardian News Sky Sport BBC Sport Sky News BBC News
- 15. 15 Default is split in the US…. 13% 13% 13% 14% 16% 16% 17% 22% 23% 26% 28% 28% My local newspaper or TV… Wall Street Journal Washington Post Reuters / Reuters TV NBC/CNBC News New York Times CBS News BBC News Fox News ABC News NPR (National Public Radio) CNN News Broadcasters dominate Half have changed or configured their settings
- 16. Passive radio listening more popular than podcasts.. “I’m not sure how much I would listen to it there [on a smart speaker], because podcasts are the sort of thing I would listen to on a train” (Focus Group, UK) 19% of NPR’s online radio listening is now from smart speakers – this is additional
- 17. Smart speaker use peaks early and late in the day Early Morning Late morning Afternoon Early evening Late Evening/ Night Flash Briefing Radio listening Travel / weather Check diary More radio Help with cooking One-off information requests Flash Briefing Entertainment / play Set alarms /reminders Habits are are well-ingrained and easy for respondents to recall. For heavy users, VOICE is the first & final interaction with technology (replacing smartphone)
- 19. Some publishers think voice is the future 19 “I believe in voice technology because it's the easiest and most natural way to retrieve information” Florian Harms, Editor in Chief, t-online.de
- 20. BBC is investing hard 20 “Our hunch is that voice is a disruptive technological change, much as the mobile phone was or the internet itself” (Mukul Devichand, Executive Editor, Voice + AI, BBC)
- 21. Others are much more sceptical … 21 “ If you are a broadcaster then it is a no brainer to get into this early but it is much more difficult for us” Christian Bennett, head of audio and video at the Guardian 1. Lack of resources for innovation 2. Lack of a clear path to monetisation 3. Problems of discovery and awareness 4. Lack of usage data to guide development Four reasons for holding back
- 22. Some are downright scared …. 22 “I think it changes everything . As soon as you move to voice, as opposed to touch, as the main interface between the people and the platforms, you are ceding any opportunity to make a decision because the machine is going to have to make the decision for you” STUART WATT, ABC NEWS
- 23. 23 What should publishers do now …. Develop a strategy for voice – why does it matter? How overlap with audio? Make existing content accessible and findable though voice (VEO!) Create ‘differentiated audio content’, that works across multiple platforms Develop multi-modal content (voice to screen and visa-versa) Experiment with more immersive and conversational experiences
- 24. @risj_oxford FREE REPORT DOWNLOAD, SLIDES, VIA REUTERS INSTITUTE WEBSITE or FROM @risj_oxford VOICE It is a big deal!!
Editor's Notes
- #2: This is a new research publishing today at NewsXchange first to look specifically at voice and news. Reuters Institute part of Oxford University. We do independent research into issues relating to journalism and I should point out right at the start that Google supports out work, they didn’t have any role in selecting this topic or editorial input. I gave the three main platforms equal opportunity to participate in this research.
- #12: So much of this about the platform in general – but what about news – how does journalism fit in
- #18: .