{"id":106075,"date":"2018-12-16T11:41:06","date_gmt":"2018-12-16T11:41:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bnreport.com\/future-search-smart-speakers-and-virtual-assistants-pose-new-challenges-for-brands-54\/"},"modified":"2018-12-16T11:41:06","modified_gmt":"2018-12-16T11:41:06","slug":"future-search-smart-speakers-and-virtual-assistants-pose-new-challenges-for-brands-54","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bnreport.com\/en\/future-search-smart-speakers-and-virtual-assistants-pose-new-challenges-for-brands-54\/","title":{"rendered":"Future Search: Smart Speakers and Virtual Assistants Pose New Challenges for Brands"},"content":{"rendered":"

What: <\/strong>Smart speakers sales are exploding, along with increasing use of voice search. Adoption of this new technology is highest among educated millenials with higher disposable incomes.
Why it matters:<\/strong> Voice search increased by 35-fold between 2008 and 2016. But brands dont have to re-invent the wheel to make sure theyre on top of consumers search results.<\/p>\n

Burger King had its own way last year when it ran a television ad with a young male employee speaking these words directly into the camera: \u201cOK, Google, what is a whopper burger?\u201d<\/p>\n

The question triggered innumerable cell phones and smart speakers within hearing distance of televisions to wake up and search the internet for the answer.<\/strong> Their owners likely then heard a description of the burger chains iconic Whopper read by their devices virtual assistant from a page on Wikipedia.<\/p>\n

Google, which was not consulted before the ad ran, quickly modified its virtual assistant not to respond to the ad<\/strong>, according to The New York Times<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Restaurants feeling the voice-search pressure<\/h3>\n

Burger Kings foray into voice search can be seen as a harbinger of the brave new world brands face as more and more internet searches are done by voice activated assistants on smart speakers and cell phones.<\/strong><\/p>\n

More customers than ever are asking AI-powered services like Google Assistant, Siri or Alexa detailed questions about restaurant brands.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Restaurants are already feeling the pressure to get with the voice search game.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn this new environment, more customers than ever are asking AI-powered services like Google Assistant, Siri or Alexa detailed questions about restaurant brands, locations and menu items," said Lee Zucker of the New York City technology company Yext.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A study<\/a> by Yext found that nearly half of all respondents (49 percent) said they would use voice search to get restaurant-specific information<\/strong>. \u201cAI is quickly changing the game for restaurants everywhere,\u201d Zucker said in a press release announcing the study results.<\/p>\n

Brands dont need to panic<\/h3>\n

Brand managers, however, dont need to panic<\/strong> as they steer into the uncharted waters of smart speakers and voice-activated searches.<\/p>\n

Adapting to voice search is not a case of re-inventing the wheel,<\/strong> SEO expert Chris Rodgers, founder of Colorado SEO Pros<\/a> tells Portada.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you have already been performing SEO properly, then you have already done some of the work to make sure that you rank for voice search.\u201d<\/p>\n

What are the key things brand managers should watch out for?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rodgers says:<\/p>\n