Digital personal assistants have been around long enough now that you probably have a favorite. Or, if you are like some households out there, use so many different ones that having a favorite doesn't even matter. In either case you might also be someone who just doesn't even think about using Siri, or Google Assistant, or Amazon's Alexa before you do it. It's just something that happens.
That's always been the goal for these companies out there hosting these types of features and platforms. Usage is a big deal, especially for the likes of Google and Amazon. Even Apple hypes up how many times people use Siri.
Getting help from one of these features is pretty great, especially if you're trying to multitask.
That's what I've come to realize is my typical usage for activating Siri or Google Assistant (the two options I use, because I don't have anything that makes Alexa easily accessible). I don't know about you, but I find myself asking Siri or Assistant a question when something pops up into my head and I'm typically doing something else.
For instance. While I started typing this up, I realized that I hadn't followed along with the Colorado Avalanche game from last night. Last I checked the score was 0:0, so I wanted to see how it all ended. (The Avs lost to the Vegas Golden Knights, 2:1.) Now, I might watch a game recap sometime later today, but for that moment all I needed was the score and Siri was ready to help.
A friend of mine told me she was going to get her husband a pair of AirPods for Christmas. I told her they were my favorite gadget, but knowing that a new pair is supposedly on the way I cautioned her to wait. Or, if anything, get him a gift card for the price of the AirPods and let him know new ones are probably around the corner.
When she asked me what was new, though, I told her that "Hey, Siri" support without having to touch an AirPod is coming, among other things. She said that he probably would love that so waiting would be good. When I asked her how often he uses Siri (I've never personally seen him request the help from Apple's digital personal assistant) she said, rather matter-of-factly, "All the time". Which was honestly pretty surprising to me.
I know that I use Siri often, usually to play music or catch up on a score or stat, but I don't think I'd consider it all the time. And I basically never use the feature when I'm not at home. But considering how helpful these features can be, or just plain fun in some cases (playing games with Cortana and Assistant is pretty awesome), I can understand why Siri, Assistant, Alexa, or even Cortana could be in someone's daily usage on a regular basis.
So, I wanted to reach out and find out just where you are on this particular scale. Do you find yourself using a digital personal assistant all the time? Or is it far more sparse in your usage? Are you someone who just doesn't use any of these services at all? Let me know!