“Alexa!”: How Are US Consumers Using Digital Assistants in 2025? Which Devices Are They Using Most?

In NuVoodoo’s Winter 2025 Consumer Digital Media Study, we surveyed over 2,900 U.S. consumers aged 14 and up, carefully balanced across key geographic and demographic variables. One emerging pattern stood out across generations: growing engagement with digital assistants like Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant. As voice interfaces become more deeply embedded across devices — from smartphones to smart homes — these assistants are evolving from novelty tools into everyday utilities. With generative AI integrations accelerating in 2025 and beyond, the way consumers interact with brands, services, and information is poised for dramatic change. In this section, we’ll explore which consumers are most engaged, how they’re using these tools, and why that matters now more than ever to marketers.

Adoption By Generation: Regular or Frequent Use of D.A.’s

📊 Chart 1: Regular + Frequent Use of Digital Assistants by Generation

• Millennials are the most frequent users: 34% use digital assistants regularly or often.
• Gen Z follows at 28%, showing strong but slightly lower adoption.
• Gen X comes in at 25%, indicating moderate engagement.
• Boomers+ (any in our sample sixty or older) lag significantly at just 14%, highlighting a generational gap in frequent usage.

The Broader Universe: D.A’s Used Occasionally, Regularly or Frequently

📊 Chart 2: At Least Occasional Use of Digital Assistants by Generation

• A majority of Gen Z (57%) and Millennials (56%) use digital assistants at least occasionally.
• Gen X shows a near-majority adoption rate at 46%.
• Boomers+, again, show the lowest engagement at 29%, though nearly 1 in 3 are occasional users or more.

Most Used Devices – Total Sample

Here we look at those who use DA’s at least occasionally to discover which digital assistants are engaged most often.  Users could name more than one.

📊 Chart 3: Devices Most Frequently Used to Engage Digital Assistants

• Smartphones dominate as the most common device: 56% of users use digital assistants on them regularly.
• Smart speakers (43%) and smart home devices (36%) are the next most used.
• Use on computers/laptops (33%), tablets (33%), and in-car systems (32%) is nearly even.
• Smartwatches/wearables (31%) round out the list but still show notable adoption.

Device Use By Our Most Engaged Generations:  Millennials & Zoomers

Millennials are the heaviest users overall, with 67% regularly using digital assistants on smartphones and nearly half engaging across smart speakers, tablets, and smart home devices.

Smartphones (53%) and smart speakers (40%) lead Gen Z’s digital assistant engagement, with notable usage also in cars (36%) and on laptops (34%).

🔮 What’s Next for Digital Assistants? The AI-Powered Evolution Ahead

As voice technology matures, digital assistants are increasingly influencing what content is surfaced, which brands are recommended, and how users make decisions on the fly — often without ever looking at a screen. For advertisers, this means the window to optimize for voice-based discovery and interaction is now. Ensuring your brand is part of the “spoken” search results — not just the typed ones — requires new thinking in SEO, content formatting, and partnerships with platforms that power voice queries. With usage already high among Millennials and Gen Z, and adoption spreading into Gen X, now is the time to invest in voice-optimized strategies that keep your brand in the conversation as these technologies continue to evolve.