Siri: she’s helpful, sassy… and, according to the results of a new study, a better virtual assistant than the Google and Microsoft competition for both accuracy and user satisfaction.
Siri debuted as an integral iOS function in the iPhone 4S launched in October 2011, and Google and Microsoft have been busy developing virtual assistants Google Now and Cortana for their own mobile platforms. However, in a study published by Experts Exchange, Siri soared ahead of both rivals, with a long list of accurate responses accompanied by an impressive 81% user satisfaction score.
The study saw randomly chosen participants surveyed on how the different assistants responded to the same list of commands. Among Siri’s standout performances here were sending a hands-free text message with 82% accuracy, ahead of second-placed Google Now’s 68% and Cortana at 60%.
It was also found that satisfied Siri users tended to hail from West of the Mississippi River, while female users less frequently received follow-up queries from Siri than men. However, even considering the recorded variances in the quality of Siri’s responses, the survey findings remain a strong endorsement of the virtual assistant that has been a standard feature of new iOS devices since September 2012.