Analysts forecast Amazon and Google would take an almost equal share of the global smart speaker market this year, with a number of other platforms battling it out further down the rankings.

Strategy Analytics predicted Amazon would see its share of sales slide to 31.7 per cent in 2019 from 37.7 per cent in 2018, while Google Assistant’s share will rise to 31.4 per cent from 30.3 per cent. The market as a whole will increase to 135 million units, a growth rate of 57 per cent.

The company forecast sales of Google Assistant-powered smart speakers will overtake Amazon Alexa devices for the first time in 2020. Google, it noted, has advantages in areas such as its established global leadership in search; its strong position in AI and machine learning; wide availability of Android services which integrate with Google Assistant; and a more extensive international footprint.

Behind this comes a range of platforms, including those delivered by China’s internet giants. In its 2019 forecast, Strategy Analytics puts Ali Genie in third place (11.2 per cent share), followed by Xiaomi’s Xiao AI (7 per cent), Baidu’s Duer OS (6.8 per cent) and, from the international market, Apple’s Siri (6 per cent).

The research covers both own-brand and third-party smart speakers, so both Amazon and Google’s own devices along with products from third parties which use Alexa and Google Assistant.

David Watkins, director at Strategy Analytics, said: “Amazon pioneered the smart speaker business nearly five years ago and its Alexa platform has held the lead until now. But rival platforms have steadily eaten into Alexa’s share and the voice platform market is likely to remain fragmented for the foreseeable future. Google Assistant will lead in many western markets, while a number of Chinese platforms will continue to vie for dominance in China’s domestic market.”