AI and digital assistants to surge in 2018, IHS Markit says - IoT Now - How to run an IoT enabled business

As they become more ubiquitous in homes and in various consumer electronics products, artificial intelligence (AI) and digital assistants are likely to be two of the major overarching themes at this week's 2018 Consumer Electronics Show (CES). Accelerating growth in both of these markets underscores their surging role in the overall consumer electronics landscape. More than 5 billion consumer devices supporting digital assistants will be in use in 2018, with almost 3 billion more added by 2021, according to IHS Markit, a global provider of critical information, analytics and solutions. Despite this growth, there are still some hurdles to overcome, before consumer adoption is widespread. "Amazon has a clear lead over rivals Google, Apple and Samsung, in terms of the numbers of skills and third-party apps and services supported by its Echo products, but more needs to be done by all platforms, to help users discover new skills and uses for the technology," said Jack Kent, director, operators and mobile media, IHS Markit.