It turns out Australians are experts when it comes to embracing Alexa’s funny side. Known for our self-deprecating humour, it comes as no surprise that we’re asking Alexa for insults four times more than we’re asking for compliments.
Not only that, novelty skills like Pickachu Talk, Ask for a Fart and Bark Like a Dog, grew 271% over the past year. The research for these figures was done over the past year during the COVID pandemic and during this time, we’ve also been listening to music, tuning into the news and weather reports and optimising our daily routines.
Our use of smart speakers has increased by 40% so now one in six Aussie homes have a smart speaker. We’ve also been downloading the Amazon Alexa app on our phones and investing in Echo Smart speakers.
Alexa has been on the Australian market for three years now and keeping up with our reputation as early tech adopters, smart-home devices have become a key feature in Australian homes. The research show 76% of Australians agree that tech like Alexa will be a key feature in the home within the next five years.
Here are some more interesting, weird and wonderful insights from Alexa’s first three years in Australia:
- Alexa has become a key feature in many Aussies daily lives – listening to music (76% of users), tuning into news and weather reports (48%) and optimising our daily routines (36% of users) are its most in-demand skills
- In a tricky year, 2020 saw Aussies embrace Alexa’s funny side – requests for novelty skills like Pikachu Talk, Ask for a Fart and Bark Like a Dog grew 271% YOY in March-June
- Baby Shark was 2020s most requested track on Alexa
So far, less than half of Alexa users (43%) currently make the most of Alexa’s smart-home capabilities. But the research shows the increase in home renovations and make-overs over the past year will lead to an increase in smart home automation being on the agenda for Aussie’s in 2021 and beyond.
These emerging trends include:
- Increased home automation – Amazon saw a spike in demand for smart-home compatible devices in 2020, a trend set to continue due to the convenience of voice communication and desire for personalised experiences.
- Home as cinema, club, restaurant and more – as we entertain at home again, we’ll be using Alexa-enabled devices to create the perfect atmosphere for family evenings in, date night and birthday celebrations.
- Quality communication – with domestic and international travel on hold, Aussies will be making the most of Alexa’s drop-in, message, call and announce functions to stay connected with friends and family near and far.
More info about Alexa
Alexa has many weird and wonderful quirks which have been keeping Aussie’s entertained throughout the years, and some we don’t yet use enough. Her most amusing of which are questions you’ll have to ask her to find out:
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Alexa has also inherited true ocker Aussie slang in the last three years, from learning about Bonnie Doon, to throwing prawns on the barbie, to deadly Aussie animal knowledge. Try asking Alexa:
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When talking about the latest skills Alexa has acquired, Kate Burleigh, Country Manager for Amazon Alexa and Devices says: “We’ve worked hard to delight our customers by adding over 25,000 skills to Alexa, from useful skills such as Cocktail King and RadioApp to crowd pleasers such as Spotify, Audible, Apple Music, Podcasts, and Netflix. We pride ourselves on building a seamless experience that Aussies love and will continue to deliver on this for our customers.”
“Looking ahead to 2021 and beyond, we’re expecting to see more customers talking with friends and family in Australia and internationally, via Alexa Calling and Alexa Drop In features in response to the human need to connect. Never has this been more important, especially while many of us are unable to visit friends and family as often as we would like.”
To find out more about Alexa, visit here.
For more from Women Love Tech on Alexa, see here.
