Paul Sephton, Global Head of Brand Communications at Jabra, discussing how workers will change how they interact with AI in 2026.
Jabra conducted research with the London School of Economics, which predicts that voice communication will become the predominant way people chat with AI models by 2028. Trust in AI increases by a third (33%) when people speak to it instead of typing. Paul believes that over 2026 we’ll see voice adoption rise, as the current rate of people chatting with AI mirrors adoption rates for previous breakthrough technologies like smartphones.
Paul Sephton, Jabra:
“In 2026, we won’t just be talking about AI – we’ll be talking to it, literally. Digital overload is pushing workers towards a breaking point, leading many to ditch the keyboard and turn to voice for quicker and easier ways of working. Already, 14% of knowledge workers prefer speaking to their AI tools over typing, a crucial tipping point seen in the early stages of other breakthrough technologies.
“Next year, we’ll continue to see a transition to voice becoming even more popular. Jabra’s study with the LSE predicts that voice will be the mainstream way of working by 2028. It’s not just faster, it’s more trusted. Our research found that trust increases 33% when people speak to AI instead of typing. Voice AI is positioned to be the most natural way to collaborate with AI tools that feel less like software, and more like a colleague.”