Survey: More than 50% of consumers would like to use voice assistants for healthcare

Reviewed by Kate Anderton, B.Sc. (Editor)Nov 6 2019

Based on a survey of 1,004 U.S. adults, the report includes these key highlights:

• 7.5% of U.S. consumers have used voice assistants such as Alexa or Google Assistant for healthcare as of September 2019
• Nearly 52% would like to use voice assistants for healthcare use cases in the future
• 18-29-year-olds are the most likely to have used a voice assistant for healthcare-related services, but 45-60-year-olds are the most bullish on the technology

The research is published in a 40-page report that includes 20 charts, ten case studies highlighting today's real-world voice-powered healthcare solutions, and 35 pages of analysis. It is available at no cost for download at voicebot.ai

This report is the first comprehensive analysis that considers how consumers are using voice assistants today for healthcare-related needs, explores features they'd like to see in the future, and highlights how provider and technology organizations have responded to the opportunity thus far. Orbita is a known technology trailblazer in voice applications for healthcare and we are pleased to bring this research to our customers, our partners, and the healthcare industry at large."

Nathan Treloar, Orbita President

Teri Fisher, MD, said, "From a clinical perspective, voice offers tremendous opportunity to engage with patients in ways we never before imagined. This report provides valuable information for organizations that may be questioning their approach or timing with new voice offerings."

Fisher is the founder and host of two podcasts, VoiceFirst Health and Alexa in Canada. He is a practicing sports medicine physician and assistant clinical professor at the University of British Columbia.

The report publisher, Voicebot.ai, launched three years ago as an experimental blog and has transformed into the leading online publication and research source dedicated to voice and AI technologies. Last month, the site surpassed four million page views and one million unique visitors, with more than 2,000 original articles published.

Bret Kinsella, Voicebot.ai founder, and CEO, said, "We are pleased to collaborate with Orbita to publish the first comprehensive report analyzing the intersection of voice assistants and healthcare. Consumers are enthusiastic about the potential of these new technologies and we hope the data helps healthcare organizations better understand the market and make decisions about how they can leverage voice assistants to enhance patient engagement."

The report is segmented into six parts including a review of how voice assistants and healthcare intersect today, consumer voice assistant adoption, voice assistant adoption in healthcare, voice technology use cases in healthcare, and technology platforms.

In August, a panel of judges curated by VoiceBot.ai named Orbita CEO Bill Rogers to the list of 2019 Top 11 Influencers in Voice. He is one of the only healthcare-focused executives named to the list which included leaders from Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Samsung, Adobe and Nuance.