Alexa, Siri Can Now Answer Your Coronavirus Questions Citing Official Data Sources

Apple users can now get Information on the ongoing Coronavirus outbreak through the Apple devices. The new source of information is the voice assistant on all Apple devices called Siri, as now users can simply ask a question to it and get the required answers in return.

Apple has updated the voice assistant over this weekend to let it answer specific questions about the virus outbreak. A simple question like ¡°Hey Siri, do I have Coronavirus?¡± will lead Siri to initiate an input based string of answers that can shed more light on the situation for the concerned user.

Apple¡¯s renowned assistant seeks these answers from the official sources of information. For the US, for instance, Siri seeks these answers from the US Public Health Service and the CDC. That is also the case wherein it answers direct questions in a conversational format for the user.

Some answers that we got by Siri

The function seems to be limited as per the region for now, as we tried the same questions with Siri and got a different set of results. While the question mentioned above results in a string of questions and answers through the voice assistant, leading to directives suggested by it, a similar question in India simply allows the user to check information from the official government website - mohfw.gov.in.

In other regions, Siri reportedly points the user to telehealth apps that further allow the user to connect with health care specialists. In entirety, the experience lets a user get any information around the pandemic, while also imparting information on how to be safe and what to do in case one feels that he or she is infected with the Coronavirus.

Not the only voice assistant to do so

The update on Siri is a part of a larger effort by tech majors to ensure the passage of only correct information around the pandemic through their platforms. Apart from Apple¡¯s Siri, Amazon has also tweaked its voice assistant ¡®Alexa¡¯ to provide a similar experience to a concerned user.

Representative Image: Reuters

Alexa, however, is not linked to an app store like Siri. So it cannot redirect the user to install an app for any further correspondence with relevant authorities. What it can do is answer your questions around the pandemic and even tell you what to do in case you suspect to have caught the COVID-19. The information will, of course, be sourced from an official government agency.

Microsoft has also come up with a COVID-19 tracker for Bing that lets users keep a track of the newfound Coronavirus cases across the globe. So as the tech companies work towards imparting the right information on COVID-19, we can make sure that we do not believe any misinformation about the pandemic by only sourcing our information through such verified platforms.