Marketers know consumers are warming up to voice search on a variety of devices — but they might not know the most frequent action they take after conducting a search through voice on either a smartphone, laptop or desktop, tablet or smart device like Google Home or Amazon Alexa.  Twenty-eight percent of consumers will call the business, 27% will visit the business’s website, 19% will visit the business’s physical location, 14% will do more research into the business, and 12% will do more research into other businesses.

Findings from a BrightLocal study released in April found that a surprisingly large number of consumers have used voice search to find local business information in the last 12 months. Some 56% have used a smartphone to find information, 28% have used a desktop or laptop, and 26% have used a tablet. About 25% would consider it, and 18% would not use voice search on any device to look for local business information.  

Consumers between the ages of 18 and 34 are the most likely to use a smartphone, followed by those ages 35 to 54, and consumers 55 years and older, at 30%. The eldest generation also are the most likely to consider at least trying voice search or shunning the idea altogether.

Interestingly, men are more likely to have used local voice search than women. They also are more likely to use voice search if they have not tried it.

Smartphones are the most commonly used tool for voice search. And while 25% of consumers say they have not yet tried local voice search, they would consider it. Among those who use voice search, 74% look for a local business on at least a weekly basis. About 46% search daily on a smartphone, while 43% search daily on a desktop or laptop, 43% search daily on a tablet, and 53% search daily on a smart speaker.

Just 18% of consumers have used smart speakers for local voice searches.

When asked to name the top three types of categories for business sites they are likely to search for using their voice, participants in the study cited restaurants, grocery stores, and food delivery companies like Uber Eats.

Consumers are also keen to see more local voice-search functions when searching for basic information. Survey participants said that the new local functions highest in demand are the ability to find an address, get directions, get a phone number, find hours of operation and distance to the business, and discover new businesses.

Some 54% said they would use voice search to make restaurant or bar reservations, while 46% named the ability to locate prices at a local business and 41% cited the capability to discover the products and the services that a local business sells.

This column was previously published in the Search Insider on April 27, 2018.