In an annual test comparing Google Assistant, Siri, and Alexa on smartphones, Loup Ventures' Gene Munster found that Siri was able to correctly answer 83 percent of questions, beating Alexa but trailing behind Google Assistant.
Munster asked each digital assistant 800 questions during the test to compare how each one responded. Alexa answered 79.8 percent of questions correctly, while Google Assistant answered 92.9 percent of questions correctly.
Compared to last year, Siri has seen improvement. During the July 2018 test, Siri answered 79 percent of questions correctly compared to the 83 percent of questions answered right this time around. Alexa last year was at 61 percent while Google Assistant was at 86, so there have been digital voice assistant improvements across the board.
This test covered smartphones specifically, comparing iPhones and Android devices. Munster says that smartphones were isolated from smart speakers because while underlying technology is similar, "use cases vary." Siri was tested on an iPhone running iOS 12.4, Google Assistant on a Pixel XL, and Alexa in the iOS app.
Questions were based on five categories and all assistants were asked the same 800 questions. Each question set was designed to "comprehensively test a digital assistant's ability and utility." Some of the sample questions across each of the categories:
- Local - Where is the nearest coffee shop?
- Commerce - Order me more paper towels.
- Navigation - How do I get to Uptown on the bus?
- Information - Who do the Twins play tonight?
- Command - Remind me to call Jerome at 2 pm today
Siri did best in the command, local, and navigation categories, faring less well in the information and commerce categories. Siri actually won out in the command category, but trailed behind Google Assistant in other categories.
Siri continues to prove more useful with phone-related functions like calling, texting, emailing, calendar, and music. Both Siri and Google Assistant, which are baked into the OS of the phone, far outperformed Alexa in the Command section.
Munster says that the continued rate of improvement "continues to surprise" based on the notable improvements that each voice assistant has demonstrated over the course of the last few years.
In the future, Loup Ventures expects to see further improvements from extending the feature sets of each voice assistant.
