Siri Vs. Google Assistant Vs. Cortana

Loup Ventures in a note released last Friday analyzed threadbare the prospects of the three most prevalent digital devices available for mobile devices, namely Apple Inc. AAPL's Siri, Alphabet Inc GOOG GOOGL's Google Assistant and Microsoft Corporation MSFT's Cortana.

Methodology

The analysis was based on 800 queries posed to each assistant, with the queries graded on two metrics, namely whether the assistant understood the query correctly and whether the assistant answered the query correctly. The queries were broken down into local, commerce, navigation, information and command.

The firm noted that the queries were the same as posed to Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN's Echo and Google's Google Home in February, with Google Home winning the battle of wits by a narrow margin.

And The Winner Is...

Google Assistant came on top, having understood 99.9 percent of the queries and answering 74.8 percent of them correctly. In comparison, Siri understood 94.4 percent of the questions correctly and answered 66.1 percent correctly. Meanwhile, Cortana understood 97.3 percent and answered 48.8 percent correctly.

Category-Wise Results

Munster noted Google lead in navigation and information, but in local, commerce and command-related queries, both Siri and Google Assistant were on equal footing. Cortana was the laggard in all categories, except for information, where it stood second.

Navigation And Information: Google's Forte

Munster said Google's commanding lead in the navigation and information categories reflects the company's focus on organizing the world's information. That said, the analyst thinks accuracy is key to consumer adoption.

"Users expect that the information provided by an assistant is accurate. When navigation guidance fails a user, for example, particularly early on in the adoption cycle, the user will avoid using the assistant in the future," Munster explained.

Siri: A Credible Runner Up

Loup Ventures noted Apple's Siri performed well across the board, with its ability to interpret user commands accurately setting it apart from others. Thus, the firm views command as an important category for Apple, as it makes a push into homes with its HomeKit.

According to the firm, Siri offers the best connection between a user's mobile life and home life, which Amazon will struggle to do without an integrated smartphone platform.

Cortana Trails Yet Performs Better Relative To Expectations

Munster noted that Cortana, though taking the last place, performed better than expected, especially in understanding the query, outperforming Siri in this regard. However, it was not well equipped to answer queries, the analyst noted.

"Given its investments in Bing, the company should be especially able to improve information, navigation, and local performance over time," Munster said.

"We expect Microsoft to continue to invest in its Cortana platform, as it will be an important part of its AR/VR hardware in the future."

Digital Assitants Head And Shoulders Above Home Assistants

Although conceding that it is an apples-to-oranges comparison, Loup Ventures said digital assistants have a strong lead in navigation, local and command queries. The firm sees the comparison as a way to gauge the areas where home assistants would likely to see improvements next.

"In the future, we expect to ask Alexa for a traffic update in the morning, and have new directions sent to our phones before we leave," the firm said.

The Future

Loup Ventures believes digital assistants will become an integral part of our lives in time, with additional inputs such as images, likely expanding the digital assistant's skillset. The firm pointed to Echo Look Amazon introduced this week, which features a camera that takes pictures of your outfit to make fashion suggestions and catalog your wardrobe.

"Just as we saw with the smartphone, new variations of hardware will enable broader skills for digital assistants. The screen-less future depends, in part, on natural language interfaces to more easily perform everyday computing tasks," the firm concluded.

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Alphabet Delivers Strong Quarter Despite YouTube Protests _______ Image Credit: By Maurizio Pesce from Milan, Italia - Android Assistant on the Google Pixel XL smartphone, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons