Google Assistant 和Apple 的 Siri(Apple’s Siri)似乎是唯一有人谈论的虚拟助理应用程序，但存在许多相互竞争的虚拟助理。其中一些您可能从未听说过，但许多可能比这两个市场领导者更适合您的需求。
1. Bixby（仅限三星(Samsung Only)）
Bixby是三星(Samsung)内部的虚拟助手应用程序(assistant app)。虽然起初Bixby对大多数(Bixby)Galaxy 手机(Galaxy phone)用户来说有点刺激，但多年来，三星(Samsung)一直在不断改进软件，添加更多功能并使现有功能更好。
Bixby相对于Google Assistant的优势之一是与三星手机的更好集成。例如，您可以直接使用Bixby访问您的手机设置。
它还具有简洁的功能，例如可让您使用短语进行常见查询的“快速命令”或Bixby例程，其工作方式与 Siri 的快捷方式(Shortcuts)非常相似。如果您家中有许多 SmartThings 设备，也可以使用Bixby轻松控制它们。
由于Bixby仅在部分三星(Samsung)设备上可用，我们显然不能向所有人推荐它。不过，如果你碰巧有一部支持Bixby的手机，你应该试一试。这与多年前推出的同一款越野车Bixby不同。(Bixby)
2.DataBot（安卓(Android)和iOS）
当人们第一次在第一部钢铁侠电影中看到(Iron Man movie)贾维斯(Jarvis)时，它引发了一种渴望，希望有一天能拥有一个诙谐的人工智能助手(AI assistant)以及那些华丽的好莱坞(Hollywood)画面。Siri 和谷歌(Siri and Google)比Jarvis更加扎实和微妙，但DataBot可能会刮伤科幻之痒(Sci-Fi itch)。
DataBot有许多不同的模块，作为虚拟助手可以做很多实用、有价值的事情。这包括网络搜索和日记管理。然而，作为一个“AI”，它主要是有趣的，你可以与之聊天、定制和玩得开心。
3.罗宾（安卓(Android)）
它的开发人员将Robin描述为“信息娱乐”语音(” voice)助手，这反映了该应用程序旨在在您驾驶时在汽车中使用。因此，它并不是要取代像Google Assistant 或 Siri这样的助手，而是要在成为(Google Assistant or Siri)车载助手(in-car assistant)方面做得比它们中的任何一个都好。因此，Robin的功能主要是为了让您的驾驶既安全又愉快。您可以让Robin播放个性化的播放列表、寻找停车场、做Facebook 的事情(Facebook stuff)等等。
请注意，尽管Robin已经存在了一段时间，但它仍然是一个beta 应用程序(beta app)，所以仍然可以预料到奇怪的错误。
4.猎犬（安卓(Android)和iOS）
Hound是SoundHound Inc.(SoundHound Inc. SoundHound)的产品。SoundHound最初是一个类似于Shazam的(Shazam)音乐识别平台(music identification platform)，但已扩展到提供可定制的AI 语音(AI voice)助手平台(assistant platform)。Hound展示了他们的技术可以做什么。
Hound做了其他(Hound)语音助手(voice assistant)所做的大部分事情，但它真正声名鹊起的是作为一个天生的语音助手(voice assistant)。它可以跟踪与您的对话并了解上下文。因此，使用Hound比您可能习惯的更具会话性。
5.天狼星（安卓(Android)和iOS）
Sirius不是一个严肃的语音助手(voice assistant)，可以用来代替Siri 或 Google Assistant(Siri or Google Assistant)，它更像是一个实验玩具。然而，它的应用程序开发人员坚持认为它不仅仅是一个聊天机器人。老实说，Sirius并没有真正做任何有用的事情，但如果你想与某人交谈一段时间而不抱太大期望，那么值得一试。
6.极限（安卓(Android)）
DataBot 并不是(DataBot isn)唯一一款试图俘获Jarvis 粉丝心的(Jarvis fandom)助手应用程序(assistant app)。Extreme在营销材料(marketing material)中几乎立即提到了Jarvis和他的创造者。
实际的功能列表比DataBot更普通，但 Extreme 的视觉风格在不切实际的电影 UI 图形和您实际使用的东西之间取得了很好的平衡。
您可以要求Extreme进行网络搜索、自拍、询问导航问题以及获取您感兴趣的事物的最新信息，例如新闻或体育(news or sports)。
7.迈克罗夫特(Mycroft)
你(Did)知道夏洛克·福尔摩斯(Sherlock Holmes)有一个更聪明的弟弟(smarter brother)，名叫迈克罗夫特(Mycroft)吗？Mycroft AI 语音(Mycroft AI voice)助手的名字来源于 Sherlock 的哥哥，他拥有巨大的智慧和奇妙的记忆力，以及来自 Robert A. Heinlein 的书The Moon is a Harsh Mistress的 AI “Mike” HOLMES IV 。
Mycroft旨在超级智能，但它也是开源(Open Source)的并且非常注重隐私。遗憾的是，获得Mycroft 并不(Mycroft isn)像访问应用商店(app store)那么简单，但您可以购买专用的Mycroft小工具或将其安装在自己的硬件上。
iOS 用户不走运，但如果你有Raspberry Pi、Linux 设备(Linux device)或Android(Android one)设备，你可以安装Mycroft，但要费点力气。由于它是开源(Open Source)的，您甚至可以修补当今可用的最智能的助手AI(AIs)之一。
8. Alexa（安卓(Android)和iOS）
将亚马逊的Alexa(Alexa)列入“您可能从未听说过(Never Heard)的辅助应用程序”列表似乎很奇怪，但这是有充分理由的。首先(First)，虽然很多人都知道Alexa是亚马逊智能音箱、手机和平板电脑的助手，但他们可能不知道Alexa可作为iOS 和 Android(iOS and Android)应用程序使用。
虽然您无法像在亚马逊设备(Amazon device)上那样在系统级别使用它，但您仍然可以在应用程序打开时访问Alexa ，甚至可以通过说“ (Alexa)Alexa ”免提使用它。
感谢您的协助！
越来越多的虚拟助手应用程序(assistant apps)一直在发布，而我们已经拥有的应用程序也在不断变得更加智能。它们中的许多(Many)都被集成到家庭自动化(home automation)系统中，因此您可以仅使用语音来控制家中的技术，或者只需询问即可获取有关智能家居中正在发生的事情的信息。
上面列出的数字助理只是您可以在您的设备上使用的数字助理，但其他数字助理并未直接向公众出售。例如，IBM 的Watson Assistant 没有(Watson Assistant doesn)公共应用程序。Watson是当今最智能的 AI 系统之一，很有可能当您上次与网站“代理”对话时，您实际上是在与更名版本的Watson交谈。与机器交谈可能会让人觉得有点奇怪，但请放心，他们是来帮忙的。
8 Alternative Virtual Assistant Apps You’ve Probably Never Heard Of
Google Assistant and Apple’s Siri seem like the only virtual assistant apps anyone talks about, but many competing virtual assistants exist. Some of these you may never have heard of, but many might be better suited to your needs than the two market leaders.
Bixby is Samsung’s in-house virtual assistant app. While Bixby was a bit of an irritation to most Galaxy phone users at first, over the years, Samsung has continued to improve the software, adding more features and making existing ones better.
One advantage Bixby has over Google Assistant is better integration with Samsung’s phones. For example, you can access your phone settings directly with Bixby.
It also has neat features, such as “quick commands” that let you use short phrases for common queries or Bixby routines, which works much like Siri’s Shortcuts. If you have many SmartThings devices in your home, it’s also easy to control them with Bixby.
Since Bixby is only available on select Samsung devices, we obviously can’t recommend it to everyone. Still, if you happen to have a Bixby-capable phone, you should give it a try. This is not the same buggy Bixby that launched all those years ago.
When people first saw Jarvis in the first Iron Man movie, it triggered a desire to one day have a witty AI assistant along with those flashy Hollywood graphics. Siri and Google are much more grounded and subtle than Jarvis, but DataBot might scratch that Sci-Fi itch.
DataBot has many different modules and can do plenty of practical, valuable things as a virtual assistant. This includes web searches and diary management. However, it’s mostly fun as an “AI” you can chat with, customize, and have fun with.
Its developers describe Robin as an “infotainment” voice assistant, which reflects that this app is designed to be used in a car while you’re driving. So it’s not intended to replace assistants like Google Assistant or Siri, but to do a better job at being an in-car assistant than either of them. As such, Robin’s features are primarily aligned with making your drive both safe and enjoyable. You can ask Robin to play personalized playlists, find parking lots, do Facebook stuff, and more.
Just be aware that, despite being around for a while now, Robin is still a beta app, so the odd bug is still to be expected.
Hound is the product of SoundHound Inc. SoundHound started out as a music identification platform in the vein of Shazam but has expanded to offering a customizable AI voice assistant platform. Hound is the showcase for what their tech can do.
Hound does most of the things that other voice assistants do, but its real claim to fame is as a natural voice assistant. It can keep track of its conversations with you and understand the context. Therefore, using Hound is more conversational than you’re probably used to.
Rather than being a serious voice assistant that you can use in place of Siri or Google Assistant, Sirius is more of an experimental toy. However, its app developers insist it’s more than just a chatbot. Honestly, Sirius doesn’t really do anything useful, but if you feel like talking to someone for a bit without too many expectations, it’s worth checking out.
DataBot isn’t the only assistant app that’s trying to capture the hearts of the Jarvis fandom. Extreme mentions Jarvis and his creator almost immediately in the marketing material.
The actual list of functions is more mundane than DataBot, but Extreme’s visual style strikes a nice balance between impractical movie UI graphics and something you’d actually use.
You can ask Extreme to do web searches, to take a selfie of yourself, ask navigation questions, and get updates on things that interest you, like the news or sports.
Did you know that Sherlock Holmes had a smarter brother named Mycroft? The Mycroft AI voice assistant is named both for Sherlock’s older brother, who was armed with a massive intellect and fantastic memory, as well as “Mike” HOLMES IV, an AI from Robert A. Heinlein’s book The Moon is a Harsh Mistress.
Mycroft is meant to be super-smart, but it’s also Open Source and strongly privacy-focused. Sadly, getting Mycroft isn’t as simple as visiting the app store, but you can buy dedicated Mycroft gadgets or install it on your own hardware.
iOS users are out of luck, but if you have a Raspberry Pi, a Linux device, or an Android one, you can install Mycroft with a bit of elbow grease. Since it’s Open Source, you can even tinker with one of the smartest assistant AIs available today.
It may seem weird to put Amazon’s Alexa on a list of “Assistant Apps You’ve Probably Never Heard Of,” but there’s a good reason. First, while many people know that Alexa is an assistant for Amazon’s smart speakers, phones, and tablets, they may not be aware that Alexa is available as an app for both iOS and Android.
While you can’t use it at the system level the way you can on an Amazon device, you can still access Alexa while the app is open, and even use it hands-free by saying “Alexa.”
Thanks for the Assist!
There are more virtual assistant apps being released all the time, and the ones we already have are getting smarter constantly. Many of them are being integrated into home automation systems, so you can control the technology in your house using just your voice or get information about what’s going on in your smart home just by asking.
The digital assistants listed above are merely the ones you can get on your devices, but others aren’t sold directly to the public. For example, IBM’s Watson Assistant doesn’t have a public app. Watson is one of the most intelligent AI systems today, and there’s a good chance that when you last had a conversation with a website “agent” you were actually talking to a rebranded version of Watson. It may feel a little weird talking to a machine, but rest assured they are here to help.
