Brief:

• AccuWeather introduced an app for Google Assistant, the search giant's voice-enabled technology that works on smartphones and Google Home smart speakers, among other devices. The app responds to natural-language questions like "Do I need an umbrella?" or "When will the snow stop?" and serves up personalized recommendations based on the forecast, according to a press release.
• AccuWeather's mobile tool provides weather information including 15-day forecasts worldwide, current conditions of any location, severe weather alerts in the U.S. and rain forecasts for an exact street address or GPS location.
• The app is available on all Google Assistant-enabled devices including Google Home, Android phones, the Google Assistant iPhone app and Apple TV.

Insight:

At this somewhat early stage in voice tech's adoption and development, marketers are still searching out strategies that apply the technology in a way that resonates with consumers and can be incorporated in their everyday lives. Obviously, weather affects all consumers, and the app offers access to forecasting information that's personalized to the individual user based on their location in order for them to better plan their day. That could mean the new AccuWeather offering could see a bit of traction, as the voice-based app is a novel way for users to get more regular forecasts and other weather information while building on the popularity of weather apps, in general, on mobile. Weather is inherently a mobile service that demands contextual relevance. Making the content easy to access via voice brings added convenience. 

AccuWeather has been active in looking for new ways to report the weather in an era where up-to-the-minute forecasts come built-in with most mobile devices and computers. For months, consumers have been able to access AccuWeather forecasts on Amazon Alexa, the e-commerce giant's voice-enabled digital assistant that is the biggest rival to Google Assistant. As Google vies with Amazon for dominance in the smart speaker market, the search company seeks to add more third-party apps and functionality to its platform. AccuWeather has previously developed apps for Google's Android mobile operating system, and incorporating digital assistants are a natural extension of that development.  The company has previously dabbled, not just in VR, but also connected nontraditional mediums like TVs and cars, along with wearables and virtual reality.

For marketers more broadly, keeping track of early voice app use cases will help determine what responsive audio content users are most interested in and where brands should begin investing as they look to dive into the space.