Intelligent Virtual Assistant Market Bolstered by Development of Healthcare IVAs

An intelligent virtual assistant (IVA) is a digital entity that interacts with end users to answer their questions, follow a conversation and accomplish different tasks. With various advancements in technology, IVAs are gradually replacing interactive voice response systems around the world. Some of the most popular IVAs include Apple’s Siri, Amazon Alexa and Microsoft’s Cortana. These innovations, with the help of artificial intelligence (AI), aim to mimic human intelligence for delivering the highest level of accuracy and understanding to users. According to IMARC Group, the global intelligent virtual assistant (IVA) market size reached US$ 2.2 Billion in 2018.

Increasing penetration of internet and smartphones is one of the key drivers of the market. Owing to rapid urbanization and rising disposable incomes, there is an increase in the dependency on smart technology-based assistance for daily life activities. The IVA provides various services, such as digital marketing tasks, scheduling appointments, and managing events and personal errands. They also offer a platform for convenient communication within companies through voice, text, and other channels to enhance customer and brand experience. Owing to these facilities, IVAs are extensively utilized in business environments with a chat interface. Also, on the mobile platform, as in the case of Apple's Siri, the IVA is available as a call-button service where a voice command helps in performing different operations. Moreover, many leading companies are developing and designing healthcare and insurance IVAs, which aid customers with various purposes such as in locating doctor’s office, filling and refilling a prescription, and receiving payment reminders. From these virtual assistants, customers can even ask inquiries about a new or different insurance program or an update on their coverage. Recently, Google, a multinational technology company based in the US, launched Google Duplex, a new technology for conducting natural conversations to carry out real-world tasks over a call. Other factors contributing to the market growth include the rising trend of automation in various services and rapid growth in the social media traffic. Looking forward, the market is further projected to reach a value of US$ 11.3 Billion by 2024, expanding at a CAGR of 31% during 2019-2024.

Chatbot exhibits a clear dominance in the global market

Based on the product, chatbot currently represents the most popular product, followed by smart speakers. A chatbot is a computer program that aids in carrying out a conversation in a natural language over the telephone, websites, and mobile or messaging applications.

Rule-based IVAs account for the majority of the market share

The market has been segregated on the basis of the type into rule-based and conversational AI-based intelligent virtual assistants. At present, rule-based IVAs dominate the market, holding the largest share. These IVAs are easy to use on e-commerce sites or social media as they only perform and work with scenarios that they have been trained in.

Text-to-speech technology dominates the market

On the basis of the technology, the report finds that text-to-speech is mostly used in intelligent virtual assistants. Some of the other major technologies used in these assistants are text-based and automatic speech recognition (ASR).

Banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) represents the largest segment

The market has been categorized based on the application into BFSI, travel, retail, government, education and other sectors. Amongst these, banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) represents the largest segment owing to their high demand in automated customer support services.

North America holds the leading position in the market

North America currently exhibits a clear dominance in the market owing to the increased usage of the internet and technological advancements in the region. Other major markets include Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East and Africa.

The competitive landscape of the market has also been analyzed with some of the key players being Microsoft, Nuance Communications, Samsung Electronics, Alphabet, Apple, Amazon, International Business Machines (IBM), Baidu, Blackberry and Inbenta Technologies.

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About IMARC Group: IMARC Group is a leading market research and consulting company that offers management strategy and market research worldwide. The company has done multiple projects on the intelligent virtual assistant industry, which has enabled the clients to set up and expand their businesses successfully. Some of the company’s offerings include:

• Market Research
• Plant setup
• Plant Expansion
• Marketing and sales
• Procurement and Distribution
• Innovation and Product Development

Imarc Group is a leading market research and consulting company that offers management strategy and market research worldwide.