Spotify Is Working on Voice Search, Potentially Paving the Way for a Virtual Assistant

Speculation that soon-to-be-public Spotify was thinking about developing its own hardware first surfaced nearly a year ago, after a hardware-oriented job posting was spotted. (Spotify put up another hardware-oriented job listing last month.) Given the rising popularity of voice-controlled smart speakers powered by virtual assistants, it seemed likely that Spotify had such a device in mind. But Spotify doesn't have a voice-controlled smart speaker of its own, prompting the question: Would Spotify look to develop one or license one from a third-party tech giant?

Well, it looks like Spotify is starting to venture into developing voice controls, starting with voice search.

Baby steps

Spotify has started testing out a new voice search feature in its mobile apps. Some users have noticed a new button to activate voice search within the standard search interface. It's a small but meaningful move that has significant implications going forward, laying potential groundwork for Spotify to better compete in the growing smart speaker market.

Smart speakers are rapidly changing consumer behaviors and preferences, with the convenience of controlling your music with your voice a primary selling point. Chances are that Spotify is working on its own smart speaker, and it will need voice controls to be competitive whenever it ends up launching. These efforts are likely beginning with some rudimentary voice search functions within the current app, but there's very likely more where that came from.

What comes next?

For what it's worth, there's no indication in Spotify's F-1 regarding what its first-party hardware strategy will look like. The only references to hardware relate to the Swedish company's reliance on third-party hardware and the associated risks. This is both a benefit and a risk, as Spotify's platform agnosticism is key to its ubiquity, but it exerts no control over third-party platforms or hardware. In its filing, Spotify rightly acknowledges that "intelligent voice assistants" are effectively platforms themselves:

What's less clear is if Spotify is just working on basic voice controls, or a full-fledged virtual assistant powered by artificial intelligence (AI). The latter is exponentially more difficult and would also essentially require Spotify to create a smart-home platform, since controlling smart-home products with a virtual assistant is the second-most-popular use case for smart speakers behind music streaming. Now that would be an absurdly tall order to fill.

But one thing is clear: Spotify does need to venture deeper into voice control.

10 stocks we like better than WalmartWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, the Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*

David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the ten best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Walmart wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.

Click here to learn about these picks!

*Stock Advisor returns as of March 5, 2018The author(s) may have a position in any stocks mentioned.

The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.