When Users Assist the Voice Assistants: From Supervision to Failure Resolution

We conducted an in situ study of six households in domestic and driving situations in order to better understand how voice assistants (VA) are used and evaluate the efficiency of vocal interactions in natural contexts. The filmed observations and interviews revealed activities of supervision, verification, diagnosis and problem-solving. These activities were not only costly in time, but they also interrupted the flow in the inhabitants' other activities. Although the VAs were expected to facilitate the accomplishment of a second, simultaneous task, they in fact were a hindrance. Such failures can cause abandonment, but the results nevertheless revealed a paradox of use: the inhabitants forgave and accepted these errors, while continuing to appropriate the vocal system.