The news: Perplexity is in talks with smartphone manufacturers to make its new Comet browser a default app on smartphones to drive adoption and user engagement, per Reuters. Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas said it aims to reach “tens to hundreds of millions” of users in 2026 after a desktop rollout to a “few hundred thousand” testers, a plan that could be aided by expanding Comet access on phones. Our take: While Comet itself is a browser, its integrations with Perplexity’s AI could streamline access to mobile AI search tools, changing mobile search behavior and forcing marketers to rethink traditional search marketing practices. Getting Comet onto phones could also supercharge Perplexity’s data on user behavior and boost its ability to improve its AI search tools.

Voice assistant adoption continues to grow, but the pace has slowed. Gen Z and seniors are key growth drivers, while smartphones and smart speakers remain central to the ecosystem as innovation and fresh competition shake up the sector.

As the use of smart-home technology increases, brands are experimenting with ways to use these connected IoT devices and systems—and the massive amounts of data that flows from them—in their marketing activities.

This report features our latest forecasts for US voice assistant users, including those who use voice assistants on smartphones and smart speakers. It also provides an analysis of the trends shaping the market.

Pandora remains the most popular streaming music service in the US, according to eMarketer's new forecast, but Spotify's continued growth will change the balance of the market in coming years.

As consumers turn to voice assistants for a growing list of everyday activities, marketers are exploring ways to add value to these interactions and boost brand engagement.

Rapid adoption of digital assistants, smart speakers and other voice-controlled devices is changing the face of human-machine interaction. This report examines the state of the market for these technologies and what’s likely to happen next.