Mobile digital assistants at your command

BANGALORE, INDIA: Mobile digital assistant technologies, such as Google Now, Siri and Cortana, are already connecting pieces of need/want assessment, information gathering and evaluation — all elements along a buying process sans autonomous purchasing.

Gartner predictions say that by year-end 2016, more than $2 billion in online shopping will be performed exclusively by mobile digital assistants.

By year-end 2015, mobile digital assistants will have taken on mundane tactical processes such as filling out name, address and credit card information. Fixed events such as grocery replenishment will be common and will build trust for these types of assistants to take on more.

By year-end 2016, slightly more complex purchase decisions, such as buying back-to-school backpacks and chained events — such as scheduling a highly rated, date-type movie along with dinner and car pickup on an anniversary — will be easily achievable. By this time, autonomous mobile assistant purchasing will reach $2 billion annually, representing about 2.5 percent of mobile users trusting assistants with $50 per year.