Can Siri catch up with the do-it-all Google Assistant? [Friday Night Fights]

At its I/O conference in California this week, Google gave us a preview of the new Google Assistant that’s coming later this year. It’s like Siri, only it’s vastly more intelligent. It does everything you want a digital assistant to do and more.

And just like a lot of Google services, Assistant will be available on iOS — not only in the official Google app, but also inside the new Allo messenger. It will be competing with Apple’s AI in its own backyard, and the Cupertino company should be worried about that.

But can Siri catch up, or have Apple’s rivals now too far ahead in artificial intelligence? Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight as we battle it out over digital assistants.

Killian Bell: So, Luke. I know you won’t have watched the Google I/O keynote this week, but it brought some spectacular products and services that even an Apple fanboy like yourself has to appreciate. One of them was the new Google Assistant, which makes “smart” Siri look incredibly dumb.

Google Assistant is probably the closest you’re going to get to a virtual best friend right now. It’s an assistant like Siri, but it’s so much more intelligent — and more conversational. It doesn’t just fetch answers to your questions and the weather forecast; it helps you tackle everyday tasks in an instant.

For example, not only can Google Assistant tell you that you’re going to be late to your meeting because of the traffic, but it can then reschedule that meeting — and your lunch meet afterwards — all by itself. It can also book your movie tickets, reserve a table at your favorite restaurant, and more. You just tell it what to do and it goes ahead and does it.

Google Assistant is by far the most intelligent assistant we’ve seen so far — and it’s only going to get better.

Although Apple helped popularize these technologies with Siri, then, it’s clearly well behind with its AI today, and it has a lot to do to catch up. Do you think Apple can catch up, or is Google (and Amazon, for that matter) too far ahead in this space now?

Luke Dormehl: Interesting question, Killian. The first thing I should say is that, considering that Apple was first to the AI assistant space (by either 20 years or one, depending on how you measure it), Google has done a great job of catching up — and, in some cases, even arguably overtaking.

I’m a big believer in the fact that such AI assistants aren’t just going to remain gimmicks as they were early on. Instead, as they get smarter and we embrace technologies like the smart home, they will become increasingly important. Google has thus far proven better at presenting the kind of contextual information that makes these tools so valuable — and it looks like Google Assistant will continue to do the same.

But I don’t think we can chalk this up as a win to Google just yet. There are a few reasons for this: firstly, we’re talking about Google Assistant being most likely an Android creation. That means that it’s going to have to be incredibly compelling to sway Apple users away from their iPhones in order to use it. Google Assistant (and Google Now, for that matter) are impressive — but I don’t know that they’re that impressive.

Secondly, Google Assistant is as smart as it is because it hoovers up all of your personal data and uses this to make targeted recommendations. You can do amazing things with machine learning, but I don’t know that everyone is going to be happy to have everything from their emails to their walking routes scoured for information that is fed back to Google in order to get easier table reservations and the like.

Finally, we’ve not yet seen how it’ll work in reality. I’ll acknowledge that Google has a decent track record when it comes to AI, but let’s not forget that the Siri shown off by Scott Forstall at the iPhone 4s keynote was very different from the one which wound up shipping. Google may talk a big game, and they could well deliver on it, but it’s a mistake to put a real tool (Siri) up against something we’ve only really seen in a product demo.

Killian: Google won’t make you use Android to access the Google Assistant. It already offers Google Now on iPhone inside its official app, and this will simply replace it. The Assistant will also be available in Google’s new Allo messaging app that’s coming to iOS, and with the Google Home hub, which puts the Assistant in your living room, office, or wherever else you’ll find it useful.

Every time we talk about Google, you do your usual scaremongering about it sucking up all our data. But the reality is, billions of people all around the world clearly aren’t too concerned about that, because they’re already using Google’s services. You’re already a Gmail user, so what else do you think Google is going to get from you that it doesn’t already know? And what harm is the company doing to you with access to that information?

Most will happily accept targeted ads for services that genuinely improve their lives, and Google Assistant is going to do that — like lots of other Google services.

Don’t give me that rubbish about this being a “product demo,” either. Since when did Google promise something it didn’t deliver? This isn’t vaporware, Luke. Also, as I mentioned before, Amazon is already doing similar things with Alexa, which has received heaps of praise since making its debut.

Siri has improved over the years, but like a lot of Apple’s products and services, it’s held back by big restrictions. It’s fine if you want to set a timer or reply to a text on the road, but it’s nothing compared to Google Assistant, and I don’t see Apple catching up any time soon.

Luke: Look, just because you don’t worry about data-mining of personal info doesn’t mean that it’s not a valid concern for others. Aren’t you the same Killian Bartholomew Bell who once, in a Friday Night Fights installment, defended the use of government hacking of our phones for national security? (Yes, you are.)

Google may be leading a lot of AI research right now, but it’s a mistake to fanboy about products which have yet to be released. Have you learned nothing from Google Glass?

Ultimately, I’d love to see Apple improve Siri and truly make it live up to the potential that it certainly has. And the company certainly has the opportunity to do so right now thanks to the release of Viv, the next-gen AI assistant built by the same team who originally created Siri and sold it to Apple. A lot of what Google is doing with Google Assistant is the same thing Adam Cheyer and others are doing with Viv, and it certainly seems an area Apple should be looking into.

Killian: Sure, people do worry about that, but like I just said, billions don’t. Those who do worry don’t use Google services at all. Don’t say you won’t use Google Assistant because you’re worried it will suck up your data when you continue to use Gmail.

Google Glass was trash, but it delivered all the features and services that Google promised. I find it funny that you’re suggesting this is vaporware because you can’t argue Siri is better. Google Assistant is coming, Luke, and you have to accept it.

Yes, others are doing what Google’s doing, but most of them don’t have the resources Google does. I don’t doubt that Amazon will keep Google on its toes, and maybe Facebook, too — but I don’t see many others competing with Google Assistant and delivering a better and more capable experience.

We’ll hand this one over the readers now because I’m clearly upsetting you with my Apple bashing again. But I have a funny feeling the vast majority of Cult of Mac readers will agree with me on this one — and that’s saying something. Can Siri step up and rival Google Assistant, or is Apple falling too far behind?

Killian Bell

Killian Bell is a freelance writer based in the U.K. He has an interest in all things tech and also covers Android over at CultofAndroid.com. You can follow him on Twitter via @killianbell.