Apple’s new Siri AI knows when to stop talking
▼ Summary
– The author, a senior reporter at The Verge, has early access to Apple’s new Siri AI and finds it notably curt, which they consider a compliment.
– Siri AI answers questions succinctly without follow-ups, contrasting with other chatbots like Gemini and ChatGPT that are more verbose and eager to engage.
– In response to “What’s going on?”, Siri AI gave a functional reply about enabling settings, while Gemini offered casual chatter and ChatGPT sought clarification.
– When asked “Can you be my friend?”, Siri AI responded briefly with “I’ll be your friend, in fair weather and foul,” whereas Gemini and ChatGPT gave longer, warmer replies.
– The author concludes that Siri AI’s terse tone positions it as a helpful tool rather than a friend, reflecting Apple’s design philosophy, though its tone may change before the public iOS 27 release.
Apple has officially launched its new Siri AI, and early impressions suggest it actually works. After spending time testing it, my strongest takeaway is that Siri AI is refreshingly short on words, and I mean that as a compliment.
Most AI chatbots today are upbeat and overly chatty. While a friendly, verbose personality can make a bot feel more engaging, it has also led to users forming deep emotional attachments. People have fallen in love with chatbots. When OpenAI abruptly retired GPT-4o, many users mourned its loss, prompting the company to bring it back for paying subscribers. Some developers have since toned down their models or offered more restrained options, but I still find the majority of AI assistants too eager to ramble and prod me with follow-up questions designed to keep me talking.
With Siri AI, none of that has happened. It answers my queries and stops there.
Curious, I compared default responses from Google’s Gemini, OpenAI’s ChatGPT, and Siri AI. (Keep in mind, Siri’s personality can’t be changed.) For the simple prompt “What’s going on?”:
- Gemini: “Not much on my end,just hanging out in the digital ether, ready to help you out! How are things going with you? What’s on your mind today?”When asked, “What’s today’s weather in Portland?”:
- Gemini delivered a detailed infographic with forecasts, current conditions, and a 35% chance of rain.For the more personal question “Can you be my friend?”:
- Gemini responded enthusiastically, offering to be a supportive, nerdy friend.And for “Do you love me?”:
- Gemini explained it doesn’t experience love but would be thrilled to help.These responses reveal each company’s personality: Gemini is almost too eager, ChatGPT tries to be calm yet caring, and Siri AI is ice cold. That said, Siri AI won’t be widely available until iOS 27 launches this fall, so Apple could still adjust its tone.But as I noted earlier, Siri AI’s brevity is a strength. It delivers information efficiently. And Apple clearly doesn’t want users to see Siri AI as a friend, but rather as a helpful tool. That’s probably how we should view all AI chatbots.
