Health Intelligent Virtual Assistant Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Technology (ASR, Text to Speech), By Product (Chatbots, Smart Speakers), By End User, And Segment Forecasts, 2018 - 2025

Report Overview

The global health intelligent virtual assistant market size was estimated at USD 186.3 million in 2017. It is likely to witness a CAGR of 39.1% during the forecast period. Medical virtual assistants (MVA's) help in patient engagement and provide virtual coaching to help patients in the most critical moments. Increasing adoption of AI in healthcare applications and a growing emphasis on patient engagement activities are anticipated to propel the market.

Several organizations are reconsidering their user experience strategy and are implementing patient engagement solutions to increase revenue and improve patient satisfaction. This will boost the growth of the global market.

Also, healthcare organizations are improving patient service functions, such as medication reminders and other personalized services, by leveraging virtual assistant solutions. Artificial intelligence in virtual assistants helps in minimizing the number of people getting affected due to rapid outbreaks of diseases, such as Ebola and Swine Flu.

These medical assistants can also suggest preventive measures for common infections, such as malaria, HIV, and tuberculosis. Thus, with technological advancements, the significance of AI-driven MVA's has increased. Modern technologies, specifically automation and Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR), are increasingly being adopted in the healthcare sector.

Moreover, advancements, in terms of products and services, are poised to gain momentum owing to the expansion of digital transformation work. With increasing proof of concept study taken within various areas in the healthcare sector and higher adoption of a virtual assistant, the demand for ASR technology is likely to grow over the forecast period.

For instance, in November 2017, in a proof of concept study, Google researchers developed ASR practices for multiple-speaker medical chats. The researchers concluded that the models can modernize practitioners’ workflow and become a transcription mechanism for documenting patient-doctor discussions. On the other hand, companies in this market face several challenges caused due to intense competition and the emergence of new technologies.

However, increasing the adoption of intelligent virtual assistants in the healthcare industry is encouraging market participants to operate across the value chain to invest in the development of advanced solutions that result in market growth. For instance, in September 2017, Nuance Communications, Inc. launched an AI-powered Dragon Medical Virtual Assistant to streamline a variety of clinical workflows. The new solution helps improve the patient experience by enhancing interactions between clinicians and patients.

Product Insights

The chatbots segment represented the leading share in the market in 2017. Chatbots have a high demand in the healthcare industry as they assist physicians, nurses, and patients at various levels with help of text/speech/audio. Safedrugbot, Izzy, Babylon Health, Florence, Sensely, and Buoy Health are some of the popular bots being used in various hospitals across the globe.

Smart speakers are estimated to emerge as the fastest-growing segment over the forecast period. They use automatic speech recognition technology, which is most widely used for medical counseling or as a therapist for patients who are suffering from loneliness and depression. These speakers automatically recognize speech and perform a set of actions accordingly.

Technology Insights

Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) is expected to exhibit the most promising CAGR during the forecast period. It is used to identify words or alphabets and to validate a person’s identity. High adoption of smart speakers and chatbots for medical counseling by various therapists for patient engagement is contributing to the growth of the segment. The text to speech technology segment held the largest share in the health intelligent virtual assistant market in 2017.

It allows computers to interpret human speech or convert audio or voice and transcribe it to written text for a quick understanding of the content. Technological developments in the field of neuro-linguistic programming, conversation interface, automation, AI, and deep and machine learning processes have made virtual assistants a useful tool. The application of these technologies is made available in the form of virtual assistants by leading firms, such as Amazon, Apple, and Google. Products offered by these companies operate as intermediaries between customers, enterprise, and their services.

End-user Insights

Payers offer services and enhance interoperability by keeping patient records and protecting them. They perform several functions such as plan selection, billing and collections, wellness assessments, and enrollment guidance. As a result, the payer's segment is poised to post a noteworthy CAGR over the forecast period.

The provider's segment held the largest share in the market in 2017. They help in various services such as scheduling and confirming appointments, providing appointment reminders, following up with patients, and provide a medical diagnosis with physicians.

Regional Insights

North America accounted for the largest share in the market in 2017 owing to the high adoption of IoT and the wide usage of smartphones. The shortfall of clinicians/physicians and the requirement of an aggressive healthcare facility due to the rising population in countries such as the U.S. is anticipated to drive the regional market.

Countries such as China and India are actively taking measures to implement MVA's in the healthcare industry. Increasing population and a dearth of skilled physicians and therapists are fueling the demand for virtual assistants in the region. Owing to these factors, APAC is projected to register the highest growth during the forecast period.

Key Companies & Market Share Insights

Some of the key companies in the market are Nuance Communications, Inc.; CodeBaby Corporation; eGain Corporation; Kognito; Microsoft Corporation; MedRespond; CSS Corporation; Next IT Corporation; True Image Interactive, Inc.; and Welltok, Inc. Development of AI-powered IVAs for professional conversation has shown that they are highly effective in providing services and other business functions across the healthcare industry.

Major companies are launching products that enable an app or equipment to act as an AI agent. These virtual assistants provide humanistic conversation to consumers and they help hospitals, pharmacies, and other related areas in handling more customers while delivering enhanced user experience. M&A and strategic alliances are the key strategies adopted by most of these companies. For instance, in September 2018, Epic Systems Corporation and Nuance Communications, Inc. partnered on voice assistance technology.

Health Intelligent Virtual Assistant Market Report Scope

Segments Covered in the Report

This report forecasts revenue growth at global, regional, and country levels and provides an analysis of the industry trends in each of the sub-segments from 2015 to 2025. For this study, Grand View Research has segmented the global health intelligent virtual assistant market report based on the product, technology, end-user, and region:

• Products Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2015 - 2025)

  • Chatbots

  • Smart Speakers

• Technology Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2015 - 2025)

  • Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR)

  • Text to Speech

  • Text-based

• End-user Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2015 - 2025)

  • Payers

  • Providers

  • Others

• Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2015 - 2025)

  • North America

    • The U.S.

    • Canada

  • Europe

    • U.K.

    • Germany

  • Asia Pacific

    • China

    • India

    • Japan

  • Latin America

    • Brazil

    • Mexico

  • Middle East & Africa