A Foolish Take: These 4 Digital Assistants Dominate the US Market

Siri, Google Assistant, Alexa, and Cortana are carving up this growing space.

The market for digital virtual assistants could grow from $2.3 billion in 2018 to $19.6 billion by 2025, according to Zion Market Research. The main tailwinds for that market include smartphones, connected smart-home devices, and connected cars.

Four digital assistants -- Apple's (AAPL 1.56%) Siri, Alphabet's (GOOG 2.65%) (GOOGL 2.81%) Google Assistant, Amazon's (AMZN 1.26%) Alexa, and Microsoft's (MSFT 1.50%) Cortana -- dominate the U.S. market, according to a recent Microsoft report.

Chart showing market share of the most widely used digital assistants in the U.S.

Data source: Microsoft. Chart by author.

Apple's strong position is bolstered by the iPhone's near-40% share of the U.S. smartphone market. Google leverages the strength of Android, its search platform, and other cloud-based services to tether users to its Assistant.

Amazon brings Alexa into homes via its Echo devices, which capture over 60% of smart speaker users, according to eMarketer. Google controls about 30% of that market. Microsoft is an underdog, but the integration of Cortana into Windows 10 devices and third-party speakers helps it retain a foothold.

The growth of these assistants indicates that the ecosystem battles between these tech giants will shift from mobile apps toward voice-activated services, which could pave the way for artificial intelligence-powered assistants to seamlessly blend into our daily lives.

John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Teresa Kersten, an employee of LinkedIn, a Microsoft subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Leo Sun owns shares of Amazon and Apple. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft. The Motley Fool has the following options: long January 2020 $150 calls on Apple and short January 2020 $155 calls on Apple. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.