There’s no denying the advancement of smart voice assistant technologies into people’s homes. According to a 2021 Statista report, shipments of smart speaker units were at an all-time high in the fourth quarter of 2020. Amazon led the way with 16.5 million and Google Next was next at 13.2 million. These smart speakers come with integrated virtual assistants that respond to user voice commands. They also provide control over smart home functions.