Siri, Google Now and Cortana – Which Mobile App Really Shines?

When Apple’s Siri came onto the scene, the game changed and the life of Apple’s flagship smartphone user got a whole lot easier with the help of the digital personal assistant. Then came Google Now and Windows Cortana, and the quest to see who was the best digital personal assistant was on. The question of which smartphone PA is superior was one that had to be answered – and it was.

The infographic below courtesy of Stone Temple Consulting gives a breakdown  — they asked the digital PAs over 3000 direct questions to see which provided the best answer. Here are some highlights from the study:

Round 1 – Merged Data Results – Winner:  Google Now with 58% of questions directly answered.

Round 2 – Completely Answered – Winner: Google Now with 88% of questions that got a direct answer in a knowledge box that was judged as completely answered.

Overall Winner – Google now

But is this a fair fight?

When you look at the proficiencies of each of these companies, Google is clearly a winner for the accuracy of its search engine — according to this list, it’s the #1 most used search engine on the Internet. Looking at digital PAs strictly from this perspective, it becomes clear who would dominate.

However, the real winner of the Siri/Google Now/Cortana royal rumble is something only you as the smartphone owner can decide as it comes down to personal choice and how you’re using the tool. The study highlights that it is only testing the functionality of a Q&A, not other functions akin to a true personal assistant which, for example, Siri might provide but Google Now doesn’t.

Yet if you’re looking to upgrade your current phone and are looking at the personal assistant feature to help you decide, it’s useful to know what each tool can and can’t do.

Check out the infographic below and ask a friend for an opinion on which device works best – it’s unknown if one of these three will give you the answer you’re looking for.