AI Voice Assistant Face Off - Siri vs Cortana vs Google Assistant vs Alexa

An AI face off is often in question for Siri vs Cortana vs Google Assistant vs Alexa. The determining factor would be to deconstruct the voice assistant technologies one by one.

With the inception of so many smart devices, there is an ample amount of AI personal assistants in the AI assistant space. With these AI personal assistants, the user can perform a series of tasks simply by using voice commands.

Initially, the majority of these solutions weren’t that great. However with time, as their dictionary of data grew, they became much better and usable with time. Right now, a lot of people often question the efficacy of different AI personal assistants out there. This is the reason the best AI assistant face off is often demanded between the most popular AI assistant names mentioned below:

• Siri
• Cortana
• Google Assistant
• Alexa

Each of these AI personal assistants brings in its own USP and efficacy of providing ease. We would abstain from giving out a decision. However, we would like to provide enough data for AI assistant names mentioned and the AI assistant space to help you conclude the best AI face off app.

With this, let's first understand what an AI personal assistant is!

What is an AI personal assistant?

An AI personal assistant is an application solution or virtual assistant technology that can synthesize natural language and perform tasks based on it. The user simply has to activate the AI assistant app using their voice, and the application will start listening to the commands.

There are plenty of AI personal assistants or virtual assistant technology in the AI assistant space as established before. However, there are few that are capable of giving a close-to-complete automated assistance experience in our daily tasks. 

Now, let’s check out the best AI assistant app and compare them to see who is the winner. For this article, the AI voice assistant that we have considered are Alexa, Google Assistant, Cortana, and Siri.

Note: Want to learn some interesting facts about AI market, here is an article that you might like.

Best AI Assistant Face Off - Siri vs Cortana vs Google Assistant vs Alexa

To figure out the most advanced AI assistant ie. Siri vs Cortana, or Cortana vs Google Assistant, or Siri vs Google Assistant, or Siri vs Cortana vs Google Assistant vs Alexa, etc, we will be looking at the features of each of these AI assistant apps and compare them side-by-side to help you unfold the best AI face off apps.

Different Ways of Using an AI Personal Assistant

There are many layers to using an AI personal assistant in the AI assistant space. To figure out a prospect from the best AI assistant face off, we have to look at each of these layers to fully understand the capability of each of these AI assistant apps.

1. Support for languages

Whether it be Cortana and Siri AI assistant, or Google Assistant vs Alexa, an AI assistant app or virtual assistant technology is simply of no use without language support. This is the reason voice assistant AI supports multiple languages to be capable of serving as many people from as many locations as possible.

Siri	Cortana	Google Assistant	Alexa
Siri AI technology supports 21 languages in around 36 countries that include languages such as Chinese, English, Dutch, French, German, Spanish, Arabic, etc.	Cortana is currently available in 8 languages that are English, Portuguese, German, Italian, Chinese, Spanish, and Japanese.	Google Assitant can currently support around 44 languages that are English, German, Norwegian, Danish, Dutch, Hindin, etc.	Alexa as of now supports over 8 languages that are English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Hindi, Japanese, and Portuguese.

 

2. Support for Dialects

Processing the commands of the user is one of the most important functions of a voice assistant AI. However, previously with a smaller dictionary, half of the things that the users commanded were misinterpreted by the AI assistant tools. Adding to it, the data related to it has grown so much that now these voice assistants not only can understand the language but different dialects. Each of the tools mentioned below is capable of processing multiple dialects. However, this can be a direct face-off between Siri vs Google Assistant. Each of these voice assistant AI offers exceptional control over the dialects which they support.

Siri	Cortana	Google Assistant	Alexa
It supports a wide array of dialects for languages such as French, English, Italian, Spanish, etc.	It supports 15 variations for regional languages.	Google Assistant supports 5 dialects of English, 2 dialects of French, and 3 Spanish dialects.	Alexa supports 5 dialects of English, 3 dialects of Spanish, and 2 dialects of French.

 

3. Accuracy of understanding the context

Except for Cortana AI app, all the remaining three AI personal assistants are pretty robust in understanding the context. However, the rivalry between Siri vs Google Assistant has taken a slight lead from Alexa. Also as reported by multiple users, Siri is a little better than Google Assistant. However, this doesn’t mean that the remaining two aren’t that great.

Siri	Cortana	Google Assistant	Alexa
Its capability to understand context is at par. It can listen and understand commands with ease and help with additional commands too such as booking a reservation, booking flight tickets, etc.	Suffers even at the basic level of understanding context. For instance, the capability to understand basic commands such as finding directions, finding tickets, etc.	It is really good but inferior to Siri AI assistant. It understands the context accurately, however, some of the commands at all times might not be available.	It works well with basic questions and commands such as setting up reminder, basic questions, planning purchases, etc.

 

4. Ease of setup

This facet would primarily be for Google Assistant vs Amazon Alexa vs Siri. It is because except for the Cortana AI app, the remaining AI personal assistant can be set up in less than 45 seconds. With Cortana, the user requires a Microsoft email id and other authentication layers to fully enable the service. With the other ones, all it takes is the email ID registered with the smartphone. The AI assistant tools enablement is step-by-step constructed by top artificial intelligence companies behind them making sure that setup is as easy as a breath.

Siri	Cortana	Google Assistant	Alexa
Easy setup	Relatively difficult to setup	Easy setup	Easy setup

 

5. Ease of usage

Using each of these AI personal assistant apps is super easy. There are often dedicated buttons on the device it came with. Adding to it, each of them has voice commands to enable themselves and take commands from the user.

Siri	Cortana	Google Assistant	Alexa
The user simply has to use “Hey Siri” or press the button provided and say the command.	There are two options i.e. either click on the Cortana button or say “Hey Cortana”	There are three ways of using it i.e. use the dedicated button, long press the home, or say “Hey Google”	Either speak the command or simply say “Hey, Alexa” to the device.

 

Features of the Assistant

 

1. Playing Music

Playing music simply by command is one of the useful features for many audiophiles. Each of these services provided has the capability to connect with a music streaming app and search for your favorite song, artist, or album with zero struggle.

Siri	Cortana	Google Assistant	Alexa
Siri allows you to play music on Youtube, Spotify, iTunes, etc. by making them the default app for playing music.	Cortana uses Spotify Premium, TuneIn, and iHeartRadio.	It supports all the major music streaming services. The user simply needs to make it the default application for playing music.	It also supports a wide array of audio streaming services. The user simply needs to make it a default one.

 

2. Integration with IoT devices for smart homes

Another very important aspect of using smart AI voice assistant is that it allows people to use smart devices in the home. It includes things such as dimming the light, turning the light on/off, switching music on/off, setting the thermostat, etc.

Siri	Cortana	Google Assistant	Alexa
If the home kit is compatible with Apple home then it will allow multiple functions such as:   Turning accessories on/off. Adjusting thermostat Time-based access of accessories Control an area Control homepod Control different accessories with remote access.	Cortana supports integration with IoT devices of companies such as Nest, Insteon, Smarthings, Wink, or Phillips hue.   It gives the capability to control functions such as adjustments of lights, outlets, thermostats, and switches	Google supports a series of smart home devices for home automation from different brands for home appliances such as lights, thermostats, locks, plugs, etc.	Similar to other AI assistants, it also supports smart home devices of different types such as smart lights, TVs, locks, and more.   The commands only work on compatible devices.

 

3. Entertainment for kids

Aside to Cortana AI app which doesn’t allow users who are less than 13 years of age, the majority of these AI assistants provide compelling options that are fun for kids. It includes simple stuff such as bedtime stories and jokes to quizzes and games.

Siri	Cortana	Google Assistant	Alexa
Siri AI technology provides multiple entertainment options such as quizzes, bedtime stories, musical understanding, games, kids' jokes, etc.	The user needs to be at least 13 years of age, otherwise, it won’t allow sign-in.	Google Assistant children to do different activities such as asking questions, playing games, and listening to stories.	It can help with homework, playing bedtime stories, telling jokes, playing games, and connecting with the close ones.

 

4. Skills of AI personal assistant

Skills are the tasks and activities that an AI voice assistant can perform. Aside from Cortana that often feels limited in terms of skills, the remaining three provide multiple skills that can’t be fully told in the sheet below.

Siri	Cortana	Google Assistant	Alexa
Make voice and video calls Read and send text Initiate messaging service with third-party apps Set alarms, timers, reminders, etc. Split a check Make reservations And many other things	Open apps on the device Get news and weather update Ask questions Set alarms & reminders Send messages	Unlock smart devices Send text and Whatsapp Remember things and events Play games Set kitchen timer Find phone Make calculation Set morning alarm via command	Turn the device into a security device. Send virtual hugs to near and dear ones Exclusive deals from Amazon Get weather forecast Nutritions tips on the go Get recipe ideas Get help for pets Make audio calls Listen to audio books

 

5. Create a shopping list

It may look like a subpar feature. Although for people who have a super busy life, these AI voice assistants can help in creating a shopping list. In fact, some of them automatically place repeat orders every month automatically based on the permission granted.

Siri	Cortana	Google Assistant	Alexa
Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

 

6. Random fun

There are plenty of random fun things that users can do with voice assistants such as -

• Tell me a joke
• Sing a song for me
• Make me a sandwich
• Do you love me?
• Tell me an interesting fact

Each of these phrases once fed to the system of these AI voice assistants will generate interesting responses. These voice assistants are very intuitive and provide witty & smart responses.

Siri	Cortana	Google Assistant	Alexa
Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

 

7. Weather forecast

Each of the voice assistants mentioned below provides a weather forecast. The user simply needs to say the right command, and the AI personal assistant would automatically generate a response in return.

Siri	Cortana	Google Assistant	Alexa
Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

 

8. Hands-free driving

The entire purpose of an AI voice assistant is to create a hands-free experience. Each of these assistants mentioned below provides support for the same.

Siri	Cortana	Google Assistant	Alexa
Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

 

Wrapping Up!

With this face-off of the multiple AI voice assistant, the idea was to extrapolate on as many features as possible and put them in a side-by-side comparison. It won’t be wrong to say that both Google Assistant and Siri AI technology lead this niche. However, the key determinant of the efficacy of these tools are subjective. It depends on the user’s preference, and the amount of utilities he/she requires from the solution. Adding to it, each of these solutions though may seem a lot mature are still evolving on a daily basis. There will be a time when each of these stand much apart and much taller, however, till then we can try to see which one is suited more to our preference.