In 2011, Apple launched Siri, an AI voice assistant that could help Apple users with tasks such as looking something up to calling someone. In 2016, Google Assistant was released. Over the past decade (give or take a bit), these AI phone assistants have rapidly developed to offer mobile users many more functions, including improved natural language processing for search queries and integration with smart home devices. These developments have been particularly dramatic since the launch of generative AI in 2022. Mobile AI assistants can now perform many tasks that make our lives easier, help us learn more, and keep us entertained.
Apple and Android users alike can use their phones’ AI capabilities for many different tasks, whether the AI assistant is integrated into the phone’s operating system or installed as an app like Microsoft Copilot or ChatGPT. Of the many abilities, these seven functional and fun features are particularly useful for completing daily tasks.
1. Communication
AI phone assistants allow you to use voice commands to make phone calls, send text messages, and dictate text rather than typing it out. More impressively, AI assistants can help you write and edit text messages, emails, social media captions, and any other written content, helping you communicate more effectively with others. This comes in handy when you’re struggling to form your thoughts in a comprehensive way or are dealing with a complex issue or concern.
2. Task Management
Mobile AI assistants can help you manage your time and keep up with never-ending to-do lists. You can use them to easily and quickly set alarms and appointment reminders. Additionally, they allow you to add to your shopping lists and to-do lists, and you can do it all hands-free. When you’re in the middle of a task, you don’t have to take the time to set it aside to pull open an app. You can simply say something like, “Hey, Siri, add bread and butter to my grocery list.” This minimizes work interruptions while ensuring you don’t forget about other important tasks or events.
3. Information Retrieval
Phone assistants have made it easier than ever to have our questions answered. With voice commands, you can ask for anything from tomorrow’s weather forecast to where to find online casinos that offer real money games, and receive instant answers or a list of relevant search results. You can even ask some AI assistants for personal information, like when your mom said she would be visiting. It does this by sorting through your contacts and messages to provide you with the answer.
These assistants can interact as if they are having a conversation with you. Natural language processing allows AI assistants to accurately understand your intent and context when you ask a question. This makes their ability to respond with answers more efficient and helpful.
Recent AI developments have taken information retrieval to a whole new level. For example, you can use your phone’s camera to look up the history of a landmark you just took a photo of while traveling. You could even use it to help you identify plants and animals you encounter. It’s both a fun and helpful capability that allows you to interact with the world around you in a whole new way.
4. Smart Home Controls
If you’ve adopted smart home devices, your phone’s AI assistant can help you control them from anywhere—whether you’re sitting on the couch and want to check your thermostat settings or are out for the day and want to check if you locked your door or turned the stove off. Your assistant can also help you set up your smart devices to activate before you get home, like running your furnace so that your home is warm when you arrive.
5. Navigation
Another way your phone can assist in daily life is by providing navigation. Whether you’re checking traffic routes before your morning commute or traveling somewhere new, your phone’s AI assistant can help you plan the most efficient route. It considers real-time traffic updates and past traffic conditions, making fairly accurate predictions about travel time.
These features are still useful even if you don’t drive. You can look up the best public transit routes to take, identifying stops where you can get on the bus or which platform to catch the subway from. It will even give you directions for walking to make transfers to other buses or trains when needed. Cyclists and pedestrians can take advantage of these capabilities as well. You can use the features to look up the best and safest paths to take ahead of time and receive updates about the weather and any path closures.
6. Translation
Your mobile assistant can help you overcome language barriers by quickly and accurately translating spoken and written content in different languages. Translations can be delivered in text or audio form, and Samsung phones even allow the feature to be used during phone calls. These features have many useful applications, from helping you understand someone speaking another language while on the go to helping you learn a new language.
7. Photo and Video Creation
Whether you’re a content creator taking new photos and videos for your followers or just preserving your own personal memories, AI assistants can help you better capture and edit photos and videos. AI can adjust the lens you’re using and the camera’s settings to best suit the environment in which you’re taking pictures or videos. For instance, if you’re in a dimly lit space, your phone’s AI assistant will adjust your camera settings to get a well-lit photo of your subject.
Recent AI assistant updates allow for quicker and easier editing. They can help you identify different video segments to quickly cut clips and remove and replace backgrounds or objects in seconds. Managing your photo and video albums has become much easier as well. Your phone’s AI assistant can help you categorize your photo gallery, saving you from sorting through hundreds (or thousands) of photos manually.