Evaluating the Usability and Effectiveness of Desktop Voice Assistants on Windows Operating Systems

Abstract

This paper presents an in-depth empirical study of usability and effectiveness regarding the use of desktop voice assistants in Windows operating systems. While a lot of research has been done on mobile-based assistants like Siri and Google Assistant, or smart speaker platforms like Amazon Alexa, desktop-based assistants remain comparatively under-explored. A total of 176 participants were surveyed to analyze their experiences with DVA in usability, multitasking, accuracy, accessibility, and overall satisfaction. To provide a balanced analysis of users' perceptions and behavioral trends, the study used a structured quantitative survey that included closed and open-ended questions. The research then tried to explore how demographic factors like age and occupation influence satisfaction levels through statistical correlation and frequency analysis. The evaluation also included practical scenarios of usage like launching applications, navigating files, and web search to assess real-world effectiveness. Results indicated that though DVA are providing accessibility and convenience, the user satisfaction levels remain moderate, having a mean of 3.03/5 due to persistent challenges in contextual understanding and multitasking. Based on previous literature, this paper provides empirical evidence and sheds light on design recommendations for improving the effectiveness of DVA in professional and academic contexts.