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    The Next Big Threat to Consumer Brands (Yes, Amazon’s Behind It)

    Makers of biggest household staples have little control over where Amazon’s virtual assistant Alexa sends consumers

    Online voice assistants like Amazon’s Alexa are threatening the decades-old high-exposure marketing model for consumer goods. WSJ’s Saabira Chaudhuri explains why if brands aren’t first in voice search, they will neither be seen nor heard.
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    Big brands would rather shoppers not ask Alexa.

    The growing popularity of voice-search assistants poses a threat to the biggest makers of household staples. Already grappling with upstart rivals, changing consumer tastes and the rise of e-commerce, personal-care and packaged-foods makers have yet to figure out how to leverage the technology.

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