Apple’s AI advancements are taking the digital assistant experience to new heights. A year after the announcement of Apple Intelligence at WWDC 2024, Siri underwent a significant update, with new features like visual intelligence, text-to-Siri support, and image generation in iOS 18. However, Siri’s conversational abilities and contextual awareness are still behind other AI-powered assistants like ChatGPT and Perplexity. So, I decided to put them all to the test and determine which voice assistant deserves to be your go-to on iPhone today, especially for digital marketers.
I highly recommend watching the video below to see all three in action. It will give you a better sense of accuracy and response speed for each assistant.
The Setup
For this comparison, I tested the free versions of Siri, ChatGPT, and Perplexity. My aim was to see how these voice assistants perform right out of the box—no premium versions, no advanced settings. I had a few hunches going in:
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Siri might surprise us with its app integrations.
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Perplexity could be a dark horse with its real-time data and partial app support.
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ChatGPT would likely be the smartest, but it might fall short when it comes to actually doing things on my iPhone.
Curious to see how they all perform in real-time? Check out the video below to get a better sense of their accuracy and response speed.
Basic Knowledge: How Smart Are They?
For basic questions like:
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Who is the president of France?
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Can you convert Fahrenheit to Celsius?
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Can you define this?
All three assistants performed well. Siri offered a visual text response, while ChatGPT and Perplexity responded vocally. Perplexity spoke a bit slower than ChatGPT, but overall, they all nailed the answers without issues. No follow-up questions were asked in this part of the test.
Winner: Tied
Navigation and Local Search: Who’s the Best Assistant for Digital Marketers?
When I asked each assistant to find a pet-friendly pizzeria near me and navigate there, the results varied:
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ChatGPT provided a list of spots but couldn’t integrate with Apple Maps for navigation.
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Perplexity also found similar spots and showed a routed map within its own app. It then prompted me to open Apple Maps for navigation, getting me one step closer to the destination.
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Siri, being natively integrated into the iPhone, found pet-friendly pizzerias and opened Apple Maps with turn-by-turn directions, making it the most seamless choice for navigating.
Winner: Siri
Current Event Article Summarization: Best for Quick Insights?
I asked each assistant to pull up the latest 9to5mac article and summarize it. Here’s how they did:
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Siri failed to summarize the article, simply showing a list of articles in the news app.
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ChatGPT found the article and provided a brief summary.
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Perplexity not only found the article but also asked for confirmation before summarizing, which I found particularly helpful.
Winner: Perplexity
Real-World Problem Solving: AI Assistance for Daily Tasks
I put the assistants to the test with a practical issue: a flat tire. Here’s how they fared:
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ChatGPT gave a detailed, step-by-step guide for fixing the flat tire using a live video feed.
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Perplexity stalled after offering a couple of suggestions.
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Siri didn’t offer much help at all.
Winner: ChatGPT
Travel and Time Logic: Who Can Solve Complex Scenarios?
I asked each assistant, “If I left NYC at 5 PM and drove 6 hours, which cities could I reach?” Here’s what they came up with:
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Perplexity provided the most comprehensive answer, pulling up a map and showing me the available cities. It then gave me one step away from opening Apple Maps to navigate there.
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Siri and ChatGPT listed cities within the 4-6 hour range but didn’t go further in showing me the map.
Winner: Perplexity
App Integration and Utilities: Which Assistant Works Best for Digital Marketers?
This is where Siri really shines. Siri is the only assistant that can open both first- and third-party apps. You can ask it to:
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Send iMessages
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Open Spotify
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Trigger reminders
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Open and control various apps like Apple Music and podcasts
Perplexity is in a middle ground, working with some iOS apps but requiring confirmation taps for actions. It can draft emails and play music on Apple Music, but it can’t handle non-Apple apps. ChatGPT doesn’t integrate with any apps on iOS.
Winner: Siri
Final Verdict: Who Should You Choose?
The best AI assistant for iPhone depends on how you define the role of an assistant. If you’re looking for an AI that can take action, Siri is the clear winner. Siri excels in integration with the iPhone and is essential for getting tasks done in the ecosystem.
However, if you prioritize an AI assistant that offers true conversational abilities and excels at fact-based queries, ChatGPT is the way to go. I personally have ChatGPT mapped to my action button for smarter responses and deeper conversations. If iOS 19 brings a Siri and GPT integration, that could be the perfect fusion of both worlds.
Pro tip for digital marketers: By combining Siri’s app functionality with ChatGPT’s intelligence, you can enhance your content creation process, marketing campaigns, and even customer interactions.
Winner: Siri for actions, ChatGPT for conversation.
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