• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

He worked 100-hour weeks to save a nearly bankrupt boat company. At 83, he’s just turned down $400 million for it—and gave it all to charity instead

2

Costco's $14 million email settlement: Who qualifies for an up-to $500 payment and how to claim before the Aug. 24 deadline

3

Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax was designed to hit the wealthy, but it’s sending most New Yorkers to their estate lawyers

1

He worked 100-hour weeks to save a nearly bankrupt boat company. At 83, he’s just turned down $400 million for it—and gave it all to charity instead

2

Costco's $14 million email settlement: Who qualifies for an up-to $500 payment and how to claim before the Aug. 24 deadline

3

Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax was designed to hit the wealthy, but it’s sending most New Yorkers to their estate lawyers
TechFortune 500

You’re Embarrassed to Use Siri In Public, Aren’t You?

By
Don Reisinger
Don Reisinger
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Don Reisinger
Don Reisinger
Down Arrow Button Icon
June 6, 2016, 12:29 PM ET
Apple Poised to Sell 10 Million IPhones in Record Debut
A customer tries the Siri voice assistant function on an Apple Inc. iPhone 5 at a Telstra Corp. store on George Street in Sydney, Australia, on Friday, Sept. 21, 2012. Apple Inc. is poised for a record iPhone 5 debut and may not be able to keep up with demand as customers line up from Sydney to New York to pick up the latest model of its top-selling product. The device hits stores in eight countries today at 8 a.m. local time, giving customers in Australia the first chance to buy the device. Photographer: Ian Waldie/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesPhotograph by Ian Waldie—Bloomberg via Getty Images
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

You might have used Apple’s virtual personal assistant Siri, but there’s a good chance you’re not doing so in public.

According to a study published recently by Creative Strategies, a whopping 98% of Apple iPhone owners across the U.S. have used Siri at least once, and 70% of the study’s 500 respondents use it sometimes. However, just 3% of those iPhone owners admit to using Siri in public, for fear of the discomfort they feel talking to a smartphone in front of others.

“With public usage as low as 3% for iPhone users, it seems users are still uncomfortable talking to their devices,” the research firm said in a statement. “Even more fascinating is this happens in the U.S. where consumers are accustomed to talking loudly on phones in public.”

Apple’s (AAPL) Siri is a cloud-based virtual assistant that allows users to ask it a wide range of questions, including what the score on a game is or to set up appointments for an upcoming event. The service is similar to competing virtual assistants, like Microsoft’s (MSFT) Cortana and OK Google (GOOGL), which also deliver voice-guided help.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

However, Siri, like other virtual assistants, has been panned in the past for being inaccurate or not offering enough features. Apple quietly updates Siri from the cloud to improve its accuracy and ability to respond to more queries, and at the Worldwide Developers Conference next week, will likely announce some new Siri features baked into its upcoming iOS 10. Rumors abound that Siri might also find its way to Apple’s next OS X desktop operating system, believed to be codenamed Fuji.

Despite launching in 2011, Apple has kept much of how users are employing Siri close to the vest. The Creative Strategies study, therefore, sheds a bit more light on how users are employing virtual assistants, to what degree, and why.

The study found that users are most likely to use Siri and other voice assistants in the car, followed by the home. Just 1.3% of respondents say they use virtual assistants at work.

Oddly, while Siri has been around for several years, it’s least likely to be used in public out of all voice assistants, according to Creative Strategies. In fact, 6% of respondents—double Siri’s usage—use any voice assistant in public. A surprisingly large proportion of Android users, 12%, are willing to use OK Google in public. Creative Strategies attributed the major difference to the higher number of Android users who previously used iDEN, a technology that allowed them to talk into their phones in a walkie-talkie-like way.

For more on Siri, watch:

So, the self-consciousness appears to be more of a Siri problem than anything else. But looking ahead, Creative Strategies believes that iPhone owners will start to feel better about talking to their handsets.

“As wearables become more pervasive—and I am not thinking here about just smartwatches but earbuds, clothing and so on—the ability to hear and carry sound will also improve,” Creative Strategies analyst Carolina Milanesi said in a statement. “This coupled with AI’s ability to turn current voice assistants into true digital agents able to have natural exchanges will remove the barrier of ‘talking to technology.'”

About the Author
By Don Reisinger
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • TikTok icon
  • YouTube icon

Latest in Tech

Man with glasses and a black collared shirt
Big TechMicrosoft
Microsoft’s stock has biggest one-day gain since 2008, adding $480 billion in market value as cloud business booms
By Amanda GerutJuly 30, 2026
36 minutes ago
Visitor look at their phone next to an Open AI's logo during the Mobile World Congress (MWC), the telecom industry's biggest annual gathering, in Barcelona on February 26, 2024. The world's biggest mobile phone fair throws open its doors in Barcelona with the sector looking to artificial intelligence to try and reverse declining sales. (Photo by PAU BARRENA / AFP) (Photo by PAU BARRENA/AFP via Getty Images)
Startups & VentureOpenAI
‘I’m just stuck’: Meet the former OpenAI researcher sitting on $700K of equity that he says is overvalued
By Eva RoytburgJuly 30, 2026
1 hour ago
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman walking.
AIEye on AI
As the AI industry calls for help to “pace” AI development. Has OpenAI already hit pause on some development?
By Beatrice NolanJuly 30, 2026
3 hours ago
nyse
AIdisruption
Nearly a third of workers admit to sabotaging their company’s AI—and smaller paychecks may explain why
By Nick LichtenbergJuly 30, 2026
4 hours ago
‘I predict one day Amazon will fail’: Jeff Bezos once warned his company might only last 30 years. At 31, it’s the biggest company in the world
C-SuiteAmazon
‘I predict one day Amazon will fail’: Jeff Bezos once warned his company might only last 30 years. At 31, it’s the biggest company in the world
By Sarah GlodekJuly 30, 2026
5 hours ago
Chickens standing on dirt
SuccessWealth
A tech podcast inspired AI workers to donate $40 million to improve the lives of chickens, pigs, and other factory-farmed animals
By Preston ForeJuly 30, 2026
5 hours ago

Most Popular

He worked 100-hour weeks to save a nearly bankrupt boat company. At 83, he’s just turned down $400 million for it—and gave it all to charity instead
Success
He worked 100-hour weeks to save a nearly bankrupt boat company. At 83, he’s just turned down $400 million for it—and gave it all to charity instead
By Preston ForeJuly 29, 2026
1 day ago
Costco's $14 million email settlement: Who qualifies for an up-to $500 payment and how to claim before the Aug. 24 deadline
Retail
Costco's $14 million email settlement: Who qualifies for an up-to $500 payment and how to claim before the Aug. 24 deadline
By Sydney LakeJuly 29, 2026
1 day ago
Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax was designed to hit the wealthy, but it’s sending most New Yorkers to their estate lawyers
Real Estate
Mamdani’s pied-à-terre tax was designed to hit the wealthy, but it’s sending most New Yorkers to their estate lawyers
By Catherina GioinoJuly 30, 2026
14 hours ago
'Am I paying for the vibes?' Gen Z says it hates capitalism, but their spending patterns show they just don't like being ripped off
Retail
'Am I paying for the vibes?' Gen Z says it hates capitalism, but their spending patterns show they just don't like being ripped off
By Nick LichtenbergJuly 30, 2026
9 hours ago
Current price of oil as of July 30, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of July 30, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJuly 30, 2026
10 hours ago
The millennial generation is split in 2: an older crowd with boomer-style comfort, a younger set going 'back to the early 1900s'
Real Estate
The millennial generation is split in 2: an older crowd with boomer-style comfort, a younger set going 'back to the early 1900s'
By Nick LichtenbergJuly 25, 2026
5 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.