Top 8 Voice Search Trends Shaping Business in 2025 

While voice search started back in the 1950s with IBM’s “Shoebox” machine, it wasn’t until the 2010s that it was popularized thanks to the rise of smartphones and smart speakers. 

Today, voice search is revolutionizing how Internet users search for information online. It’s now part of our everyday lives, from casually asking Siri to play your favorite jams to ordering groceries with Alexa. Voice search has taken convenience to the next level, and it keeps evolving.

Digital marketers and business owners need to understand voice search trends in 2025 to future-proof their strategies and adapt them to the AI-driven search landscape ahead. 

Key voice search trends for 2025

1. Voice search usage is growing

2. Voice search affects SEO

3. AI is influencing voice search

4. Voice commerce explosion

5. Voice search is expanding into verticals

6. Voice search responds to emotional queues

7. Voice search reinforces accessibility and inclusivity

8. Voice search is local

Key voice search trends for 2025

To understand how businesses can use voice search technology to appeal to users, we must look at the latest voice search trends. In this guide, we cover the top voice search trends to ensure you’re not missing out on the $1 billion voice searches that happen every month. 

1. Voice search usage is growing

Today, 71% of internet users say they prefer voice search over typing. The greatest driver of voice search growth is its integration into smartphones, which accounts for 56% of usage.

But there’s a lot more to it. It’s no longer limited to smartphones, it’s everywhere! It’s now seamlessly integrated into our daily routines. From controlling smart home devices, like Google Assistant, Alexa, Amazon Echo, and Google Nest Hub, to bringing voice control right into people’s ears with Apple’s AirPods and Samsung’s Galaxy Buds. 

Even cars are joining in, with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay letting drivers search, navigate, and call all without taking their hands off the wheel.

The extensive availability of voice search on different devices allows products, particularly those of the same family, such as the Apple Siri Ecosystem or to learn how consumers interact with different devices and to better understand consumers.

2. Voice search affects SEO

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the anchor of digital marketing because it determines how people find information on the Internet. Voice search is shifting SEO in numerous ways and changing how businesses should optimize their websites.

For instance, keyword research and implementation now favor long-tail keywords over short-tail keywords. Before voice search became mainstream, short-tail keywords like “dentists near me” created all the buzz and brought consistent traffic to your website. However, long-term keywords, like “Which dentist is near me right now?” are more effective in helping your web pages appear in voice search results. 

Optimizing for SEO enough to earn featured snippets boosts your chances of appearing on voice search results pages. As a matter of fact, more than 70% of voice search results pull information from featured snippets and “People Also Ask” sections.

3. AI is influencing voice search

Early voice assistants struggled with misheard words and robotic responses. The advancement of voice search via machine learning and Natural Language Processing (NLP) is enhancing voice assistants’ capacity to understand and complete complex and important tasks, such as those involving money or health.

More importantly, AI enables voice assistants to understand context, intent, and tone, not just words. For example, if someone says, “Find me a good place for dinner nearby,” AI knows they’re asking for restaurant recommendations, not just information about places around or dinner options.

AI has also enabled voice search by increasing personalization and predictability, meaning it doesn’t return the same answer for everyone. It learns from a user’s past behavior, location, and preferences. So, if you often order vegetarian meals, your assistant might recommend a vegetarian-friendly restaurant first.

A good example of an AI integration into voice assistants is Apple Intelligence, which includes an overhaul of Siri. Apple Intelligence makes Siri’s voice and response will sound more natural and conversational by providing more personal context and product knowledge about your devices’ features and settings.

This means businesses must now go beyond keyword stuffing. To stay visible in this AI-powered landscape, you must be keen to optimize for context, structured data, and conversational experiences.

4. Voice commerce explosion

Voice commerce is becoming more popular, with 43% of people who shop online admitting to using voice assistants. Additionally, 35% of Americans are familiar with voice commerce, but they’re yet to start using it.

Voice commerce thrives because it makes shopping seamless, and it’s now possible on various devices, including smart speakers and smartphones. It has numerous other advantages that will see to its increased popularity:

• Voice commerce gives the illusion of human interaction because the tools provide responses in the same way an employee at a store would. 
• Shoppers appreciate notifications to reorder from the voice assistants for the products they commonly refill.
• Voice assistants may prompt users to leave reviews, which makes it easy for the next customers to make purchasing decisions.

Consumers can skip browsing and go straight to purchasing with simple commands, like “Alexa, reorder laundry detergent” or “Hey Google, find me the best deal on running shoes.” This convenience has become especially attractive to busy households and mobile-first consumers.

5. Voice search is expanding into verticals

Initially, voice search was typically used for casual updates like queuing music and weather updates. But today, it’s overhauling complex industries, like healthcare, finance, and ecommerce, reshaping how businesses deliver services and how consumers experience them. 

Here are some unlikely use cases of voice search:

• Healthcare: Hospitals and other healthcare institutions are now adopting HIPAA-compliant voice assistants to streamline patient engagement, automate appointment bookings, medication reminders, and even post-surgery instructions.
• Banking and finance: With voice search, you have a pocket-sized financial advisor that you can also use to inquire about your account balance and set bill payment reminders.
• Hospitality: You can use voice assistants to book flights and plan travel itineraries. Better yet, top-rated hotels now install smart speakers in rooms to streamline customer service. 
• Retail: In addition to ordering groceries, you can now reorder, return, and check delivery statuses hands-free.

6. Voice search responds to emotional queues

Thanks to AI, voice search now responds to consumers’ emotional queues, turning them from simple question-answer tools into empathetic digital companions. Your voice assistant, whether Siri, Alexa, or Google Assistant, can now provide you with more contextual answers, and here’s how:

• They analyze tone, pitch, and speech rate to understand what you’re feeling and respond appropriately, limiting your frustrations.
• They have an emotional memory, meaning they remember previous interactions and create more human-like interactions.
• They analyze words and phrasing to interpret sentiments and emotional context.
• They minimize churn by offering empathetic and human-like support.

7. Voice search reinforces accessibility and inclusivity

By allowing people to interact with technology using natural speech instead of typing or tapping, voice search is opening the internet to millions who were previously underserved. 

Voice assistants favor people with different types of disabilities, including visual impairments, motor disabilities, and cognitive limitations, to search the web, navigate apps, and control devices without needing a screen.

In fact, 32% of people with physical disabilities use voice assistants weekly, and 27% of people with visual impairments use them to buy groceries weekly.

Voice search supports multiple languages, dialects, and regional accents, providing non-native speakers with access to more online resources and lowering the digital literacy barrier. Alexa and Google Assistant are examples of voice assistants that support up to 30 languages and dozens of accents.

8. Voice search is local

Location and proximity drive voice search because voice queries almost always include words like “near me,” “closest,” or “open now.” Additionally, most voice searches happen on the go and on smart devices while they’re driving, walking, or multitasking, which makes location-specific answers a top priority. 

For example, if someone says, “Hey Siri, where’s the nearest coffee shop?”, Apple Maps may return a local café with updated business hours, good reviews, and accurate location data. But if your business details are outdated or missing, you’ll lose visibility even if you’re physically closer to the user.

So, how do you optimize your online presence to reach the 72% of voice-activated speaker owners who use voice search to find information about local businesses? Here are some invaluable tips for optimizing for local search:

• Claim and optimize your Google Business Profile 
• Complete and update your name, address, and profile (NAP) regularly
• Target conversation or natural, voice-friendly phrases 
• Add a local schema markup or structured data 
• Ensure your website is mobile-friendly and easy to navigate

Stay on top of voice search trends with WebFX!

To optimize your website for users’ voice search preferences, work with experts who understand the ins and outs of voice search trends and optimization.

WebFX is an award-winning digital marketing company with extensive experience driving results for voice search. Our voice search optimization services incorporate the latest trends and ensure you’re attacking the SERPs. We will handle everything from content creation to results tracking and get your business in front of your audience.

If you’re interested in working with the qualified experts at WebFX, contact us online or give us a call at 888-601-5359!