If you’re old enough to remember trying voice dictation programs in the 90s, then you know the true meaning of boredom. If you wanted to type an email or memo using your voice, it took hours of training, an excruciatingly slow speech rate, and ultimately a rather useless chunk of text.
Things could be different today. Thanks to significant advances in machine learning and cloud computing, digital voice recognition systems can understand you almost as well as other people.
Siri, Google Assistant, & Cortana – Three Digital Assistants Compared”/>
That’s why every smartphone, laptop and tablet can be shipped with a built-in digital assistant. The three main players are Apple’s Siri, Microsoft’s Cortana, and Google’s Google Assistant If it is not clear from the name.
All three assistants do a similar job and also have their own unique value propositions. It is probably impossible to objectively say which helper is the “best”, but comparing the two for specific general tasks is a useful exercise. For every person reading this, one of these helpers is best suited to your specific circumstances.
So, for this three-way comparison, the goal will be to showcase the strengths and weaknesses of each option so that you can make an informed choice of who to go with. However, before we do that, let’s introduce our three beautiful members.
Siri .- Authentic
Siri .was first launched as an exclusive feature of the iPhone 4S. Keep in mind that iPhone 11 will launch in 2019, making Siri .one of the oldest digital assistants available today.
Siri, Google Assistant, & Cortana – Three Digital Assistants Compared”/>
When the first teasers for Siri .aired, it sounded a bit like science fiction. The stunning voice synthesis and seemingly flawless voice recognition were real masterpieces. In hindsight, Siri .has utilized some degree of smoke, mirrors, and a relatively limited area of ??high-quality features. Since then, she has become smarter and smarter, but by all accounts, the old girl is no longer a technology leader.
However, this assistant is limited to the Apple ecosystem, so the bigger question is whether Apple fans should stick to the brand assistant in the store their devices come with or not.
Cortana – From game goddess to personal assistant
Cortana is named after a character in the world famous Bungie Halo game series. She is the AI ??who helps the Master Chief, the hero of the series. Now you too can hear her legendary voice in your head. Well, that’s if you wear headphones alongside this Halo Master Chief collector’s full-size helmet.
Siri, Google Assistant, & Cortana – Three Digital Assistants Compared”/>
Since Microsoft’s mobile operating system is virtually gone, Cortana is basically a Windows 10 feature with apps in the Android and iOS stores. This means it offers great Windows integration features, but it certainly isn’t built into any of the mobile systems that people actually use.
Google Assistant – Run a Turing Test
Google is undoubtedly one of the leading technology companies in the world. Especially when it comes to advanced artificial intelligence algorithms. So it’s no surprise that Google Assistant is packed full of the latest technology.
In a sense, this can be a problem. The feature set is constantly changing and it’s not always clear where Google Assistant ends and other Google services begin.
Siri, Google Assistant, & Cortana – Three Digital Assistants Compared”/>
For example, Google Duplex is an incredibly impressive service in which an AI-powered Google chatbot will call (for example) your local hairdresser and make an appointment for you. All you have to do is ask. However, Duplex was developed as a standalone project and then added to Assistant as an extension.
The advantage of using Google Assistant is that it is tightly integrated with Google services, including great Android integration.
How we tested
The idea behind this comparison is not to compare these three helpers according to their paper specifications. Instead, the idea is to compare them in practice in terms of how you actually use them on a daily basis.
The user experience is important here and whether these shiny bots really do what you want them to do. If a particular helper has a great feature for your particular use case, then it’s still a moot point.
Siri, Google Assistant, & Cortana – Three Digital Assistants Compared”/>
We used two separate devices to test the three digital assistants in question. In the case of Siri, we were using a 9.7-inch iPad Pro tablet with the latest version of iOS 12 at the time of writing. For the other two devices, we used the Samsung Galaxy Note 10+.
Since the idea is to get an idea of ??day-to-day use, each was given the same general tasks, including searching the web, creating a calendar reminder, and launching the app.
Sound-tuning quality
These might not be complex technical specifications, but the digital assistant lives and dies because of how natural it sounds when speaking. The whole point of these applications is to switch the user to an interactive interface. This means that a harsh robotic voice is unacceptable and will cause most people to stop using such a product.
Siri, Google Assistant, & Cortana – Three Digital Assistants Compared”/>
In our testing of these three apps, Google Assistant came in first, followed by Siri, and Cortana in third. Google and Apple products sound natural, at least in their North American English versions, but poor Cortana sounds like she needs an update.
Turn On Phrase Interaction Performance
One of the main features of any modern digital assistant is the use of speakerphone. All you have to do is say the magic word and an assistant is ready to help. At least in theory. So we wanted to see how well the trigger word responded.
Note that in the case of iOS, only Siri .supports launching hands-free. While you can install both Cortana and Google Assistant on iOS, you cannot launch them in one word. The easiest workaround here is to ask Siri .to launch another assistant. It’s strange, but if you absolutely need it, it only adds a few seconds of extra work.
Siri, Google Assistant, & Cortana – Three Digital Assistants Compared”/>
Let’s start with Apple’s Siri Using the trigger phrase “Hey Siri†is instant and you don’t have to wait for a prompt before asking a question. The Google Assistant works just as well, but it doesn’t work that way by default. At least not on third party phones. There are quite a few digging through the menu to find a setting mysteriously named “Voice Match†that allows you to summon a digital genie from anywhere on your phone, even if it’s locked.
The Cortana app only responds to the trigger word when it is open. So, to be honest, not everything is so useful.
Boring but Useful Things
Setting reminders, opening web pages, launching applications, and other similar tasks are the basics of using the digital assistant. So what about these three tariffs?
When it comes to web search, all three helpers are great. Cortana uses Bing, which may not work for those who prefer Google algorithms. All three were happy to set reminders, take notes, and schedule appointments.
On iOS, Siri .launches apps with aplomb and happily plays music using Apple Music. On Android, Google Assistant happily fulfills app launch requests, but oddly doesn’t work properly with YouTube Music. Hopefully this will be fixed soon. Cortana categorically refuses to launch any apps or go beyond the app bubble in general.
Siri, Google Assistant, & Cortana – Three Digital Assistants Compared”/>
That’s all Cortana will do for us. Which is quite a bit.
Device Integration and Control
Digital assistants are great for hands-free use of your device as long as they have access to the permissions you want. The latest version of Siri .has almost complete control over the Apple device it’s on. It can control many switches, such as turning Wi-Fi or Bluetooth on and off. You can also activate accessibility features like VoiceOver using Siri
Siri, Google Assistant, & Cortana – Three Digital Assistants Compared”/>
On Android, Google Assistant did the same, toggling general settings right away. However, Cortana was unable to cope, which is not surprising at the moment.
Non-verbal use
While the hallmark of these devices is that you can just talk to them to get things done, it is not always possible or desirable to have a loud conversation with your digital assistant. You can be on the bus, in a meeting, or wherever you would rather be quiet.
Siri, Google Assistant, & Cortana – Three Digital Assistants Compared”/>
Most helpers these days have a text chat mode where you can mute the conversation but still get natural language responses.
Siri .doesn’t do this by default, however – you need to go to the iOS accessibility menu and activate Type to Siri Both Cortana and the Google Assistant have text input by default, so they get a little extra reward.
Voice recognition performance
How well can a digital assistant understand you? This question has two parts. The first has to do with accurately converting your speech to text. It’s useless if what you say turns into a mess like auto-correction. The second part of the question has to do with how well the program analyzes what you said.
All three assistants understood what was said without any problems and analyzed correctly. Not much to report here, but voice recognition and AI in 2019 are impressive.
Verdict – who is on top?
For Apple users, the verdict is clear. While Siri .objectively lags behind Google Assistant in terms of cutting edge technology, its deep integration with iOS and Apple hardware means it delivers the best overall experience.
Especially considering the almost flawless hands-free operation. If you also use Apple services like Apple Music and take the time to fine-tune Siri .shortcuts, it’s hard to imagine coming to terms with the limitations and hoops other digital assistants put on iOS devices.
Siri, Google Assistant, & Cortana – Three Digital Assistants Compared”/>
For Android users who don’t have access to Siri, things get more interesting. Between Cortana and Google Assistant on our Galaxy Note 10+ test device, Google Assistant clearly has the edge. Using Cortana Bing as its search engine is understandable, but Bing consistently produced less satisfying search results, which is a pretty serious foe.
After all, Cortana is a very limited Android app. The cross-functionality that exists with Cortana on Windows might make it a useful add-on app, but it can’t be recommended as your primary Android assistant when Google Assistant is right here and so well integrated.
–