Voice Assistant Marketing: 6 Ways to Use AI for Your Brand
Voice assistants aren't the future anymore. They're present infrastructure that 8.4 billion people use daily to search, shop and interact with brands. The question isn't whether to incorporate voice into your marketing strategy. It's whether you can afford to ignore a channel that's projected to drive $186 billion in commerce by 2030.
This isn't a theoretical exploration of what might happen. We're examining six strategic ways to use voice search and conversational AI right now, backed by 2025 data and real case studies from brands that are already winning.
Why voice assistants matter for marketing in 2026
The global voice recognition market is projected to grow from approximately $12 billion in 2022 to nearly $50 billion by 2029. That's a 316% increase in seven years. Over 8.4 billion digital voice assistants are currently in use worldwide, meaning there are more voice assistants than people on the planet.
But market size alone doesn't tell you why this matters strategically. Here's what does: 27% of the global online population now uses voice search on mobile devices. That's not the mythical "50% of all searches" statistic that circulated for years. It's the real number, and it represents over 1.3 billion people actively choosing voice over typing.
Voice commerce tells an even more compelling story. The global market was valued at $49.68 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $186.28 billion by 2030. People aren't just asking questions via voice. They're buying products, booking services and completing transactions without ever touching a screen.
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Buy Now for £19.991. Optimise content for voice search behaviour
Voice search queries differ fundamentally from typed searches. People type "best Italian restaurant Manchester." They ask voice assistants "Where's the best Italian restaurant near me that's open now?"
The strategic difference is conversational language and intent clarity. Voice searchers want immediate, specific answers. Your content optimisation needs to reflect this behavioural shift.
What this looks like in practice:
Use long tail, question based keywords that mirror natural speech patterns
Structure content to directly answer common questions in your category
Implement schema markup so voice assistants can easily parse your information
Focus on local SEO with complete, accurate business information across platforms
Create FAQ sections that address the exact questions your customers ask
Voice search prioritises position zero (featured snippets) more heavily than traditional search. If your content isn't structured to win featured snippets, you're essentially invisible to voice search users.
2. Develop branded voice applications
Voice apps, known as Alexa Skills or Google Actions, allow brands to create custom experiences through voice assistants. These aren't just novelties. They're functional tools that solve real customer problems while building brand affinity.
Subway UK launched an actionable audio ad campaign with Say It Now in June 2024, allowing users to voice activate promotions and access deals directly through Alexa. The result was measurably higher engagement than traditional digital ads and a direct path from awareness to conversion.
easyJet Holidays launched their "Big Orange Sale" actionable audio ad on Alexa in January 2024. Users could voice book holidays and make inquiries, streamlining the customer journey from interest to purchase. The campaign demonstrated that voice commerce works for considered purchases, not just impulse buys.
Strategic applications for branded voice apps:
Product information and recommendations based on user preferences
Transactional capabilities for ordering, booking or purchasing
Interactive experiences that provide entertainment or education value
Customer service functions that handle common inquiries
Loyalty programme integration for personalised offers
The key is utility over novelty. Voice apps succeed when they solve genuine friction points, not when they're gimmicks that demonstrate technical capability without delivering real value.
3. Implement voice commerce capabilities
Voice commerce isn't waiting until 2030 to matter. It's already a $49.68 billion market in 2024. The 275% projected growth to $186.28 billion by 2030 represents one of the fastest expanding channels in digital commerce.
Voice shopping behaviour differs from traditional ecommerce in important ways. Voice shoppers typically:
Repurchase familiar products rather than browsing new categories
Prefer trusted brands with established voice presence
Value speed and convenience over price comparison
Complete transactions in contexts where screens aren't accessible
This means voice commerce favours brands that build voice assistant relationships early. First mover advantage matters more in voice than it did in traditional ecommerce because behaviour is habit driven.
Implementation priorities:
Enable voice purchasing through existing assistant platforms
Optimise product information for voice queries
Streamline checkout processes for voice specific workflows
Implement voice specific promotions and loyalty incentives
Track voice commerce metrics separately from other channels
The brands winning in voice commerce aren't necessarily the ones with the biggest catalogues. They're the ones that make purchasing via voice genuinely easier than alternatives.
4. Create conversational AI experiences
Conversational AI goes beyond simple command and response patterns. It uses natural language processing to facilitate genuinely helpful interactions that understand context, remember preferences and anticipate needs.
The marketing application isn't just customer service automation. It's creating brand interactions that feel personal at scale.
Where conversational AI delivers marketing value:
Personalised product recommendations based on conversation history and preferences
Dynamic content delivery that adapts to individual user interests
Interactive storytelling experiences that build emotional brand connections
Proactive assistance that anticipates customer needs before they ask
Seamless handoffs between voice, chat and human support when needed
By 2026 and 2027, experts predict voice AI will become genuinely proactive, offering anticipatory reminders like financial alerts and health monitoring without being prompted. The marketing implication is profound. Brands that establish trusted voice relationships now will be positioned to deliver proactive value later.
5. Leverage voice push notifications
Voice push notifications represent a relatively underutilised marketing channel with high engagement potential. Unlike text notifications that get ignored or swiped away, voice notifications demand attention through audio delivery.
The strategic advantage is cutting through the notification noise that plagues every other digital channel. Voice notifications work particularly well for:
Time sensitive offers that require immediate action
Personalised reminders based on user behaviour and preferences
Milestone celebrations that strengthen customer relationships
Cart abandonment recovery with contextual voice messaging
Appointment or delivery confirmations that require acknowledgment
The key is permission and relevance. Voice notifications are more intrusive than text, which means they must be more valuable to justify the interruption. Use them sparingly for high value communications, not constant promotional bombardment.
6. Prepare for AR and VR voice integration
Voice is rapidly integrating with augmented and virtual reality for immersive applications in education, ecommerce and entertainment. This convergence matters for marketing because it creates entirely new experiential possibilities.
Imagine voice controlled virtual shopping experiences where customers can browse products, ask questions and complete purchases without removing a VR headset. Or augmented reality product demonstrations where voice commands control what customers see and learn about features.
These aren't distant possibilities. The technology exists now. The question is which brands will implement it strategically rather than waiting for mainstream adoption.
Strategic preparation steps:
Audit your product catalogue for AR and VR suitability
Experiment with voice controlled virtual experiences
Build voice interaction capabilities into existing digital properties
Partner with platforms developing immersive commerce solutions
Track AR and VR adoption rates in your target demographics
The brands that dominate immersive commerce will be the ones that establish voice interaction patterns before the technology reaches mass market adoption.
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Buy Now for £19.99The critical challenge: AI voice cloning and trust
Voice assistant marketing doesn't exist in a vacuum. It operates in an environment where AI voice cloning technology has become frighteningly sophisticated. An October 2025 study published in PLoS One found that most people cannot differentiate AI cloned voices from human ones.
This creates real risks. Audio deepfake scams are proliferating. Misinformation campaigns using cloned political voices influenced recent European elections. The trust infrastructure that voice marketing depends on is actively under attack.
What this means for marketers:
Transparency about AI usage becomes competitive advantage
Verification mechanisms for brand communications are essential
Customer education about voice security protects brand reputation
Ethical guidelines for voice technology use aren't optional anymore
Privacy first approaches to voice data build long term trust
Brands that prioritise transparent, ethical voice marketing practices now will be rewarded with customer trust later. Those that exploit voice technology without clear boundaries will face backlash when the inevitable scandals emerge.
Data privacy: The ongoing tension
Consumer concern about data privacy continues intensifying. Voice assistants, which by nature record conversations and personal preferences, sit at the centre of this tension.
The strategic challenge is balancing personalisation benefits against privacy concerns. Voice marketing works because it's personal. But that personalisation requires data collection that makes users uncomfortable when they think about it too directly.
Building voice marketing strategies that respect privacy:
Explicit opt in for voice data collection with clear value exchange
Transparent explanations of what data is collected and how it's used
User controlled privacy settings that are genuinely accessible
Minimal data collection practices that gather only what's essential
Regular audits to ensure compliance with evolving regulations
The brands that navigate this balance well will build sustainable voice marketing programmes. Those that prioritise short term data extraction over long term trust will find themselves increasingly regulated and rejected by privacy conscious consumers.
The future is conversational and proactive
Voice assistant marketing in 2026 isn't about whether to participate. It's about how strategically you implement.
The technologies exist. The consumer adoption is real. The commerce potential is measurable. The brands winning aren't waiting for perfect conditions. They're optimising for voice search now, building branded experiences that deliver utility, implementing commerce capabilities that reduce friction and preparing for immersive integration.
But they're also doing this responsibly, with attention to privacy concerns, ethical AI usage and transparent data practices that build trust rather than exploit it.
The next 12 months will separate brands that treat voice as experimental channel from those that embed it as core infrastructure. The data suggests the latter approach is commercially smart. The strategic question is whether you're ready to implement it.
If you're a brand looking for a sports marketing consultant to turn these insights into real world strategy, let's talk.
THE INTERVIEW IS TOMORROW.
You've read the article. Now ace the interview. Get the "Sports Marketing Interview Cheat Sheet." This 10-page PDF has expert answers, talking points on the 2025 trends and more.
Buy Now for £19.99About the author
Michael Porter is a sports marketing consultant and growth partner with 15 years of experience at brands like Formula E, SailGP and E1 Series. If you're a brand looking for a sports marketing consultant to turn these insights into real world strategy, let's talk.
