Personalized results tailored to your profile

While advertising is important to Amazon and Apple, Google, more than any other smart speaker maker, makes most of its profits from advertising. One of the features of Google Home is to personalize search results. Connect your account to your Google smart speaker, and when you ask it questions, it will personalize those results based on your profile.

This image is the source of most of Google's profits. Every question you ask, every entry in the search bar, helps Google narrow down your interests and preferences. This information is valuable for ads selling products and services you are more likely to buy. As smart speakers become more popular, what you ask them and how you ask them will become more important to advertisers.

Part of this profile includes where you asked the question. Are you searching from your phone, laptop or smart speaker? The type of answer you're looking for often varies depending on where you're asking the question. Since your smart speaker is usually left in a room, Google can pinpoint your location.

Advertisers may even pay to distort your search results. Ask your Amazon Echo about ordering shampoo, and advertisers may pay Amazon to recommend their brand as the best result. We often see this type of marketing online, but on the screen you can easily see other options as well. With your smart speaker, you may be more receptive to any suggestions the device makes. By controlling search results, your smart speaker can have greater control over your purchases.