This year, 45.4 million Americans will talk to an Artificial Intelligent (AI) assistant inside smart speakers, says research firm eMarketer. If 2017 was the year consumers knowingly (even with some skepticism) let AI into their home with the purchase of a smart home/WiFi enabled device or two, 2018 will be the year they embrace AI.
As proven with the statistic from eMarketer, AI devices are common to us now. Americans are embracing virtual assistants to manage everything from our television, lighting, thermostats, home monitoring and food delivery. The technology, although seemingly high-tech, is swiftly integrating into homes and becoming part of our everyday fabric. For instance, I’ve heard people jokingly acknowledge their children refer to Alexa as part of the family or that they now know what the Cloud is as they toss out their CD collection.
So how did a “nice to have” parlor trick that’s used for one application turn into a “need to have” so quickly? To understand that concept, we have to look into the added and somewhat below the surface benefits that home automation is offering consumers:
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