Top 10 Most Popular Virtual Assistants

Mixi September 06, 2021 | 10:45

Digital assistants can perform certain tasks on behalf of an individual with the help of certain user inputs and access to GPS location.

Illustrated picture. Photo: Mixi's

With everything at our fingertips quite literally, we do get tired of always having to type, be it a message, dialing a number, or operating an app. Virtual assistants have taken the world by storm as they offer a delightful alternative to conventional typing.

From working individuals to grandparents and kids always asking Siri random questions all the time, things do seem a little more manageable now. The virtual assistants can search your queries on search engines to schedule a meeting, taking a note, you name it for you.

The List of 10 Most Popular Virtual Assistants

1. Siri

2. Google Assistant

3. Alexa

4. Cortana

5. Braina

6. Blackberry Assistant

7. Fyle

8. Extreme

9. Bixby

10. Hound

What Are The Most Popular Virtual Assistants?

1. Siri

Photo: VnExpress

Siri, synonymous to every other virtual assistant, is still one of the best virtual assistants one could ask for. Run-on all common Apple devices, Siri laid the foundation of virtual assistants. The veteran app has gotten updated numerous times, improving and adding more to what it can already do.

Siri can type texts for you, search your queries on search engines, dial a contact, warn about the weather, and read headlines from the selected newspapers (many newspapers have audio reports now, such as The Washington Post). This smart virtual assistant can also act as an interpreter helping you understand different foreign languages.

Availability: iOS devices

Best Tips To Change Siri Voice

You can change Siri voice and gender. That sounds great! Read on to know how to make changes.

Who is Samsung’s new virtual assistant Samantha ?

Photo: MySmartPrice

"Samantha" is an AI virtual assistant that is not an official Samsung product.

A design firm named Lightfarm created Samantha with a marketing company owned by Samsung, but the final product was not picked up or incorporated into a Samsung campaign.

She designed similar to that of a Pixar character, a different approach from Apple's faceless Siri or Google's Google Assistant.

Samsung has it's own virtual assistant Bixby that represents a major reboot for S Voice, Samsung's voice assistant app introduced in 2012 with the Galaxy S III.

So far, there's been no official announcement from Samsung about a new virtual assistant.

2. Google Assistant

Photo: Digital Trends

When it comes to Android, the king of Virtual Assistants is one of our personal favorites, Google Assistant. Just as Siri is to Apple, Google Assistant is powered by voice commands on Android. Most of the Android phones come with a shortcut that can take the user directly to the virtual assistant. Google Assistant types messages, emails, dial contacts, play songs, search queries, read notifications, open apps, to name a few basic functions. The Assistant supports the text commands as well. You can turn the Assistant on and then decide whether you want to continue with the voice command or type instead. Additionally, you can also control your smart home devices using the assistant.

Availability: Android devices (including wear OS devices), iPhone (with restrictions)

3. Alexa

Photo: Vietnam

Amazon’s take on Virtual Assistant, Alexa, is one of the users’ favorite. The phrase ‘Alexa…play [insert a song]’ has been very popular this year. The virtual assistant initially ran on Amazon devices. The company has now extended its support to iOS and Android devices as well. The assistant can do a range of things other than playing music. You can take notes, make To-Do lists, set up alarms, can keep you informed about the weather and news, and more. The virtual assistant comes with this exciting feature of waking up with a word of your choice (not every device offers this feature, though).

Google Assistant vs Alexa – Exclusive features

Each side also has a few special features worth considering. For Google Assistant, Chromecast lets you take media from your phone and fire it over to your TV. Chromecast is a low-cost media dongle that plugs into a TV’s HDMI port. There’s also one for audio, called Chromecast Audio.

This is great if you want to turn your old, but still great-sounding, ‘non smart’ hi-fi system into a smart home-controlled system. Chromecast doesn’t have a full interface of its own, though – it’s just a middle-man that bridges old tech with new.

Amazon’s alternatives are the Fire TV Stick and the more powerful new 4K Amazon Fire TV. These are more familiar TV devices that have a full on-screen interface, and come with a remote. They let you play Netflix, games and download an array of apps — the Fire TV family is based on Android, so it enjoys access to a pretty gargantuan ecosystem.

Alexa comes into play with the newer Fire TV remotes. There’s a mic in the included plastic wand, via which you can request content with a voice command. We tend to recommend the Fire TV stick to people looking to stream all the latest services on their non-smart TVs, or those with creaky old smart interfaces.

However, Chromecast does boast much closer integration with your phone, and while less accessible, may appeal to the more tech-y among you.

4. Cortana

Photo: GeekWire

This is a primary intelligent digital assistant which was developed by Microsoft and launched along with the release of Windows Phone 8.1 in the year 2014. Apart from a good sense of humor and ability to tell jokes, Cortana can be used to set reminders, find files on the phone, track package deliveries, etc.

Availability: Android devices, iOS devices, Microsoft devices

5. Braina

Photo: YouTube

This is a virtual digital assistant which is developed to be used in Windows PC operating systems. Developed by Brainasoft, this assistant helps users perform tasks based on a voice input. It mainly focuses on voice recognition and uses a natural language interface.

6. Blackberry Assistant

Photo: CNET

This is an intelligent digital assistant developed by Blackberry Limited or RIM which allows users to perform different tasks based on voice-based inputs. Blackberry Assistant allows you to provide voice commands or type in the query and then display the required results.

7. Fyle

Photo: Capterra

Fyle, another AI-powered Virtual Assistant app, makes dreadful expense management achievable. Designed as a management app, this virtual assistant has a lot of tricks up its sleeve. It offers integrations with Google G Suite and Microsoft Office 365. Fyle can do real-time data extraction, track corporate cards and policies, and manage CRM workflows as well. The virtual assistant is widely being used by businesses to manage their expense sheets and more. Unlike most virtual assistants out there, Fyle can prove to be an effective addition to your workflow.

Availability: Android devices, iOS devices

8. Extreme

Photo: Inspirationfeed

Yet another intriguing yet simple virtual assistant for Android, Extreme is a personal voice/virtual assistant expert in a number of simple functions. This virtual assistant is very easy to get hooked to; it offers a series of straightforward features and is highly responsive. Extreme would dial contacts, send messages, write emails, and search your queries using the search engine. If you are looking for an alternative to Google Assistant, then Extreme seems like a good choice. The assistant can find locations and show you the best possible route along with the weather and traffic updates. The app learns and comes up with great comebacks once it gets to know you (you’d love it if you appreciate a good sense of humor).

Availability: Android devices

9. Bixby

Photo: Thegioididong

Samsung’s assistant, Bixby, is a multilingual virtual assistant. Initially launched for Samsung devices, the virtual assistant has expanded its support to a couple of other devices as well. The virtual assistant has been improved a good deal since its launch. It has a good response time responding to commands much more efficiently. The virtual assistant works on all of the Samsung devices (refrigerator, TV, etc.). Like many other virtual assistants, Bixby tries to learn as much about you as possible. It will take notes of your preferences and show you things accordingly. Open apps, make calls, set up tasks on the calendar, and much more through it.

Availability: Samsung devices

10. Hound

Photo: YouTube

Hound is a very intelligent and helpful digital assistant which provides fast and detailed search results of weather, sending text messages, making a call, finding a suitable hotel for you, navigating help, checking the stock market, etc. It can also be used to play music and play various interactive games.

Availability: Android devices, iOS devices

What are virtual digital assistants?

Virtual digital assistants can understand spoken language commands and can complete tasks for people through a combination of user input, location awareness and by accessing online information. While virtual digital assistants such as Alexa and Siri started as modern conveniences to inquire about the weather, traffic reports, latest news and get directions, advances in natural language processing, personalization, and access to a tremendous amount of data have helped virtual digital assistants become powerful marketing and customer service tools.

They are also able to do many things a human assistant can do such as taking dictation, managing schedules, reading emails aloud and placing phone calls. There are many virtual digital assistants on the market today, but Amazon’s Alexa, Google Now, Microsoft’s Cortana and Apple’s Siri are all virtual digital assistants you may have heard of. Because virtual digital assistants respond to voice commands, you can use them hands-free such as when you’re driving down the road. The only learning curve required is to learn to speak, so virtual digital assistants are easy to use and great for children and even the most tech-challenged among us. According to research, 62% of those who use voice-activated digital assistants plan to buy something through their smart speaker devices within the next month.

In the case of U.K. Retailer Marks & Spencer, a virtual assistant translates into good business. The company’s virtual assistant has saved it an estimated $2.5 million in sales since it was added to the website. The virtual assistant helps customers troubleshoot discount codes, the loyalty programme and solving almost 70% of other customer issues without needing human intervention.

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