The Buzz around Virtual Assistants

Virtual assistants are getting an increasingly hot topic. Here’s a list of some of the virtual assistant that I have come across:

• The most well-known virtual assistant is of course Apple’s Siri 
• Google has both Google Now and Google Assistant (the next generation of Google Now) [7]
• Microsoft’s Cortana, whose use Nissan just demonstrated in its cars at CES [11].
• Amazon’s Alexa for which there have been some very interesting announcements lately. Huawei is bringing it to its Mate 9 smartphone [3]. Alexa has also recently found its way to Ford’s cars [4] and, interestingly enough, LG’s refrigerators [10].
• Samsung’s new Viv-based assistant that will be included in Galaxy S8 [5]. Viv is a company Samsung acquired last year [12].
• Cisco’s virtual assistant called Monica, which will be initially available in Cisco’s telepresence systems [6]
• Facebook’s M virtual assistant [8,9]
• Nokia’s Viki - Engadget reported recently that Nokia has applied for a trademark on “Viki”, which is a Siri-like smart assistant for smartphones and the web [1]. The filing for the trademark refers to a “Software for the creation and monitoring of mobile and web digital assistants working with knowledge and combining all data sources into a single chat and voice based interface” [2]. Nokia has not revealed any details about Viki, so it is not known on which (and on whose) devices it will eventually be available.

[1] Nokia appears to be working on its own AI assistant, https://www.engadget.com/2017/01/09/nokia-ai-assistant-trademark/

[2] Nokia gets Siri-ous about smartphones as it trademarks new AI assistant Viki, http://thenextweb.com/mobile/2017/01/09/nokia-ai-assistant-viki/

[3] Huawei's Mate 9 Becomes the First Alexa Phone, http://www.pcmag.com/news/350816/huaweis-mate-9-becomes-the-first-alexa-phone

[4] Ford vehicles will soon have Amazon Alexa on board, https://www.engadget.com/2017/01/04/ford-amazon-alexa/

[5] Samsung to debut Viv-based AI assistant alongside Galaxy S8, http://appleinsider.com/articles/16/11/07/samsung-to-debut-viv-based-ai-assistant-alongside-galaxy-s8

[6] Cisco Developing 'Monica' Digital Assistant, http://www.lightreading.com/enterprise-cloud/cisco-developing-monica-digital-assistant/d/d-id/725561

[7] The difference between Google Now and Google Assistant, https://www.cnet.com/how-to/the-difference-between-google-now-and-google-assistant/

[8] Facebook is testing suggested responses in its M assistant, http://venturebeat.com/2016/12/14/facebook-is-testing-a-new-feature-for-its-ai-powered-assistant-m/

[9] Facebook Reveals The True Purpose Of Its M Virtual Assistant, https://www.buzzfeed.com/alexkantrowitz/facebook-reveals-the-true-purpose-of-its-m-virtual-assistant?utm_term=.owaKnzr12#.jjXveo105

[10] LG put Alexa in a refrigerator and it seems like a great idea, https://www.engadget.com/2017/01/06/lg-smart-instaview-refrigerator-hands-on/

[11] Microsoft's connected car platform will put Cortana on the road,  https://www.engadget.com/2017/01/07/microsofts-connected-car-platform-will-cortana-azure/

[12] Samsung acquires Viv, a next-gen AI assistant built by the creators of Apple’s Siri, https://techcrunch.com/2016/10/05/samsung-acquires-viv-a-next-gen-ai-assistant-built-by-creators-of-apples-siri/