Virtual assistants are a lagniappe technology. Almost nobody actually needs them, but when they work properly they bring a little something extra to your life.
Even though they’re heavily flawed and a clear-and-present danger to our privacy, it’s still super nice to be able to yell “Hey Google, play some Skynyrd!” while I’m doing the dishes and, lo and behold, it’s Freebird time.
But not all virtual assistants are created the same. We’ve got Cortana tethered to our desk, Alexa trying to manage our homes, and either Google or Siri in charge of our phones.