How to Create Virtual Assistant App

Author: Christine Kocharyan

Virtual assistants like Siri, Cortana, Alexa, and Google Assistant are all big players in the market and have become an important part of people’s life.

According to recent statistics, the global virtual assistant market is expected to reach $11.8 billion by 2023. According to Statista, the number of voice assistant users is forecast to increase to 130.1 million users in 2025. So it comes as no surprise that businesses are investing in voice assistant application development to improve customer experience. This rapid growth is driven by the increasing demand for personalized, hands-free assistance and the desire for more efficient and convenient task management.

Virtual assistants have become increasingly popular in recent years due to the many benefits they offer businesses and individuals. A virtual assistant is a software program or human assistant who can perform a variety of tasks, such as scheduling appointments, answering emails, and managing social media accounts. In this part, we will explore some of the statistics and benefits of using a virtual assistant.

Creating a virtual assistant app can be a challenging but rewarding project. An important part for it is conducting market research. It is a crucial step in the process of creating a virtual assistant app. Market research will help you understand the needs of your target audience, identify gaps in the market, and validate your app idea.

Here are the steps to create a virtual assistant app:

Step 1: Define Your Target Audience

Define your target audience by creating a profile of the users who will benefit from your virtual assistant app. Consider factors such as age, income, location, occupation, and tech savvy. This information will help you understand your target audience's needs and preferences.

Step 2: Analyze Competitors

Examine existing virtual assistant apps and analyze their features, pricing, and target audience. Study the market trends and identify areas where you can differentiate your app and add value.

Step 3: Gather Customer Feedback

Gather feedback from potential users to understand their needs and pain points. Consider conducting surveys, focus groups, and one-on-one interviews to gather feedback.

Step 4: Analyze Industry Trends

Stay up-to-date on industry trends by attending trade shows and conferences, reading industry publications, and following relevant blogs and forums. This information will help you understand the direction the industry is headed and identify new opportunities.

Step 5: Validate Your App Idea

Once you have gathered all the necessary information, validate your app idea by testing it with a small group of potential users. This will help you gauge interest and refine your app idea based on feedback.

Step 6: Find a Development company

Finding developers for creating a virtual assistant app can be a complex process, but there are several options that you can explore to build your development team.

  • In-house developers

  • Freelancers

  • Development company

Step 7: Decide on Basic Features

A virtual assistant app can have a wide range of features depending on the specific use case and target audience, but some key features and challenges that should be considered for implementation include:

  • Voice recognition

  • Natural language processing (NLP)

  • Determine the target audience for the app.

  • Task automation

  • Personalization

  • Integration with other services

  • Contextual awareness

  • Machine learning

  • User Experience (UX)

  • Security

  • Scalability

Step 8: Choose a Technology Stack

Virtual assistant app development requires a combination of advanced natural language processing and machine learning libraries, backend technologies, database management systems, API integration, frontend technologies, and cloud computing platforms. Choosing the right technology stack for your virtual assistant app will depend on the specific requirements of your app and the skills of your development team.

How Much Does It Cost to Develop a Virtual Assistant App?

As a rough estimate, the cost of developing a basic virtual assistant app for a single platform (such as iOS or Android) could range from $50,000 to $100,000 or more, while a more complex app with multiple features and capabilities could cost upwards of $500,000 or more.

It's also worth noting that development costs are just one part of the overall cost of creating and maintaining a virtual assistant app. Ongoing costs such as hosting and infrastructure, maintenance and support, and marketing and advertising will also need to be considered.

Based on our years of experience, we can say that virtual assistant apps is determined by a combination of factors, including:

  • Development costs

  • Hosting and infrastructure costs

  • Maintenance and support costs

  • Licensing costs

  • Marketing and advertising costs

In this article, we’ve shared some insight into building an application development team. Read more about how to create a virtual assistant app.