Alexa, Tell Me Where You’re Going Next

While there have been occasions where customers have had trust issues with Amazon’s Alexa, virtual assistants like that one (and others) continue to feel the love. There was a 78 percent increase in the number of smart speakers in U.S. homes between December 2017 and December 2018, from 66.7 million to 118.5 million, and Deloitte is projecting worldwide sales of 164 million units in 2019 — a total of $7 billion — after an estimated 98 million were sold in ‘18, totalling $4.3 billion. As promising as that might sound to Amazon (currently the leader in the field) and fellow…...