• by Ray Schultz , May 2, 2019

Digital assistants such as Siri and Alexa worry 41% of consumers, primarily about passive listening and trust and privacy in general, according to “Voice Report—From answers to action: customer adoption of voice technology and digital assistants,” a study by Microsoft. 

Still, that number is outweighed by the 59% who do not share those concerns. And many users will share their email addresses or other non-PII data with digital assistants to receive information on:

• Personalized pricing/rewards — 85% 
• Free or upgraded shipping options — 82% 
• Expedited purchasing/checkout options — 80%
• Personalized product recommendation/alerts — 79% 
• Automated rendering of frequent purchases — 73%

Lesser percentages will provide PII information such as name, address and phone number, the study says.

Microsoft, which offers the Cortana digital assistant, is focusing on six key principles to build trust:

• Control
• Strong legal protections
• Transparency
• No content-based targeting (meaning the firm will not use the user’s email, chat, files or other personal content to target ads).
• Security
• Benefits to the consumer 

The study also found that:

• 69% have used a digital assistant. 
• 75% of household will have at least one smart speaker by 2020.
• Over half of consumers expect digital assistants will help them make retail purchases within the next five years. 

Microsoft Marketing Intelligence surveyed 2,000 consumers online across the U.S., UK, Canada, Australia and India. In addition, Microsoft received perspective from 5,000 U.S. consumers via its online research tool AskSuzy.