Illumine8 After Hours Recap: Alexa vs. Google vs. Siri

With voice interaction technology growing and evolving so rapidly, we took to task the three behemoths of the intelligent personal assistant market: Alexa, Google, and Siri.

Illumine8's technical lead Mark Ryba broke down the key features, while I texted my mom and played some Jimmy Buffett. Here's how it played out live:

So what did we learn?

Here's What They Can All Do

There's a reason these three are all very popular: They can do a lot. An exhaustive list of everything these personal assistants can handle would be...well, exhausting. But here's a quick rundown of some baseline actions that can be performed on either Alexa, Google, or Siri:

• Setting a timer
• Adding a reminder
• Getting news headlines
• Computing math equations
• Retrieving weather
• Searching the web for basic information

Here's Why Alexa Is The Best

We didn't crown an overall winner. Each assistant could be the best option depending on your technological environment. But if we were picking sides, here's why we would vote for Alexa:

• Learned Skills: Alexa has 15,000 learned skills, and can pair with many outside applications.
• Podcasts: Alexa will play podcasts and radio on demand. (i.e. "Alexa, play NPR.")
• Ordering: Alexa has the ability to order you a pizza or have flowers delivered upon a simple command.
• The Bartender: Cocktail recipes!

Here's Why Google Is The Best

For users with multiple Android devices (like Mark!), Google Assistant is likely your best bet of these three. Here's why we would vote for Google:

• Translation: The Google Translate technology has been evolving over the last 11 years, so it's of little surprise Google leads the pack in voice-assisted language translations.
• YouTube: As a Google subsidiary, YouTube playback is well connected through Google Assistant.
• Chromecast: Sensing a pattern yet? Google works very well with things owned by Google. (And Google owns a lot...)

Here's Why Siri Is The Best

Similar to Google's relationship with Android environments, Siri probably makes more sense if you're enveloped in an Apple technology environment. Here's why we would vote for Siri:

• Texting: As demonstrated in the live stream, Siri integrates with Apple Messages to send text messages and read responses. (Siri can also do this with emails, too.)
• App Download: Siri has the ability to go into the App Store, search for an application, and install it on your iPhone—all from a single voice command.
• Reservations: Through integration with OpenTable, Siri can make a requested restaurant reservation.

Have your own opinion? Feel free to share your voice assistant love (or hate) in the video comments on Facebook.

Illumine8 Marketing & PR is a Frederick, Maryland-based firm that combines the power of business development strategy, marketing creativity, and customer-focused sales to deliver sustainable and measurable results.