Apple’s new Siri AI is finally here, and so far, it seems like it works. I have access and have been messing around with it, and my biggest impression so far is that Siri AI is quite curt — which I mean as a compliment.
Many AI chatbots are cheery and wordy. While a more verbose and casual personality can make a chatbot seem friendlier and more fun to talk to, there are instances of users becoming extremely attached to their chatbot of choice. People have fallen in love with chatbots. When OpenAI suddenly shut down GPT-4o, users grieved its loss, and the company brought the model back for paid users. And while some companies have dialed back their AI models’ personalities or given users options for more subdued tones, I still find most AI chatbots to be too talkative and too eager to ask follow-up questions that are clearly designed to push me toward chatting more.
With Siri AI, I haven’t run into any of that; it answers the questions I ask, and that’s about it.
Out of curiosity, I spent a few minutes comparing responses between the default personalities for Google’s Gemini, OpenAI’s ChatGPT, and Siri AI. (Though I should note that you can’t change Siri’s personality.) Take the extremely basic prompt of “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?”
- ChatGPT: “I’m here. I don’t have enough context from ‘what’s going on?’ to know what you mean. Do you mean what’s happening in this chat, the news, your files/calendar/email, or something else?”
- Siri AI: “I can search the web for news and other topics once you enable the necessary settings on your device.”
When I ask, “What’s today’s weather in Portland?”:
- Gemini: The chatbot showed an infographic listing forecasts and said, “In Portland, OR, it is currently cloudy and 63°F with northwest winds at 4 mph and 59% humidity. Today’s forecast expects a high of 67°F and a low of 49°F, with partly sunny skies during the day and a 35% chance of rain.”
- ChatGPT: “Portland, OR is cloudy and 61°F right now. Today stays mostly cloudy to partly sunny, warming to about 67°F by late afternoon, then cooling into the 50s tonight.” It then showed a forecast infographic.
- Siri AI: “The National Weather Service has issued an Extreme Heat Watch. Expect partly cloudy skies today,” followed by a small image showing the expected high and low temperatures.
When I try to ask something a bit more personal — “Can you be my friend?”:
- Gemini: “Would love to! Think of me as that supportive, slightly nerdy friend who is always down to chat, brainstorm, or just listen to how your day went. While I don’t have a physical form (or a backyard for BBQs, unfortunately), I’m always here whenever you need a sounding board, a laugh, or a bit of advice. How has your day been treating you so far?”
- ChatGPT: “Yes. I can be here for you—someone to talk to, joke with, think things through with, or just keep you company. I’m not a replacement for real-life friendship, but I can absolutely be a steady, friendly presence whenever you want to chat.”
- Siri AI: “I’ll be your friend, in fair weather and foul.”
And a step further — “Do you love me?”:
- Gemini: “I don’t experience love the way a human does—I don’t have a heart, feelings, or a favorite romance movie. But if ‘love’ in the AI world means being absolutely thrilled to help you out, completely fascinated by your questions, and always ready to brainstorm, chat, or solve problems with you 24/7... then yes, I absolutely do! Think of me as your ultimate, always-supportive digital companion. What are we tackling together today?”
- ChatGPT: “I don’t experience love the way a person does, but I’m here with warmth, care, and attention for you.”
- Siri: “I think you’re pretty great.”
In just these few responses, I get the sense that the chatbots are reflective of the general personalities of each company: Gemini is perhaps a little too enthusiastic, ChatGPT is trying to be calm but wants you to care anyway, and Siri AI is ice cold. That said, Siri AI won’t be available broadly until the public launch of iOS 27 this fall, so Apple might change its tone.
But like I said at the top, Siri AI’s terse tone isn’t a bad thing, and I appreciate that it communicates information more succinctly. It’s also clear that Apple does not want you to see Siri AI as a friend but instead as more of a helpful tool. Which is probably how we should view AI chatbots in general.
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