Don't forget about the food!
These days I'd be shocked to see an intelligent assistant demo without some sort of food-ordering demonstration. If your virtual assistant hits the market and it can't order takeout for me, you're doing it wrong.
Because the main players in the virtual assistant space have this functionality (in some shape or form), it's a good means of comparison for the different platforms. Joseph Rosensteel took to his Unauthoritative Pronouncements blog to compare the various assistants.
Google Assistant
A key part of Google Assistant's demo was that it could order things for you through services Google has partnered with, like GrubHub or Instacart. Since this is a platform that permits third party developers, competitors like Postmates or Amazon Prime Now could theoretically integrate the same way …
This kind of stuff excites me. Much like a human assistant flipping furiously through a Rolodex to find the right person for your request, I want my virtual assistant plugged into all the things. But that's only going to happen if Google allows for third-party integrations with competitors. As Joe points out, "Amazon Prime Now seems like a stretch!"
Amazon Alexa
When you add [a] skill, you are prompted to login with a Domino's "EasyOrder" account. Alexa is a thin layer between you and Domino's, like grease, or dignity. … Any Domino's competitor can make an equivalent skill and they wouldn't be impaired by Amazon any more or less than Domino's.
Because Amazon's focus is less about competing with other tech companies by means of hardware, it's pretty easy to see a lot of integrations for all of Amazon's Alexa products. In fact, there are already loads of integrations, and the list keeps growing.
Where Amazon fails to compete with the machine-learning power of Google, it makes up for that in its universal, open nature. Almost anyone can submit an Alexa Skill, and Amazon continues to form partnerships with companies that make home automation products. The joy of "Alexa, turn on my lights and set them to 25-percent" knows no bounds.
Siri
If you tell Siri, "Order Pizza" she provides a list of nearby restaurants with pizza on the menu and their Yelp star ratings. That's it. Tap them to go through a maze of ordering things.
Yeah, Siri could use some work when it comes to third-party integrations. OK, a lot of work, but lucky for us, it's rumored that's exactly what Apple's working on. The company might open up Siri to developers, finally giving us the ability to use Siri as our maestro for all things iOS.
Err, fingers crossed it doesn't end up like that did.
Are you looking forward to third-party integrations? What virtual assistant do you use? Oh! One more question: What's your favorite kind of pizza?
