Virtual Digital Assistant Launches Will Dribble Out by Country

Apple, Google, Facebook, and Microsoft are worldwide technology powerhouses, but when it comes to the adoption of virtual digital assistants (VDAs) like Siri, Google Assistant, and Cortana, scale only takes you so far. In this particular business, players who successfully cater to the nuances of individual countries will conquer the global VDA market. The same principle will apply to enterprises looking to automate customer interactions like customer service and e-commerce with enterprise VDAs. The challenges facing VDA providers were brought to light recently by the plight of Jibo, the crowdfunded smart home VDA robot that received pre-orders from consumers in 47 countries. On August 9, the company announced that product rollouts would be limited to the United States and Canada only, and that all orders for Jibo outside those markets will be refunded.