A recent survey in the UK revealed that 41% of internet users look for the answers to health-related questions online. Experts have asserted that, while Google laptop searches tend to find quality online sexual health advice, digital assistants such as Siri and Google Assistant are struggling to compete.
“[The findings] show the importance of improving digital literacy in the general population… [more ought to be done] to encourage internet users to treat information in online lifestyle magazines with caution.”
Academics in New Zealand and Sri Lanka chose 50 questions to put to both Siri and Google Assistant (which they were granted only three attempts at each question). The results provided by each software would then be compared with laptop-based google searches to see which responses were more suitable and relevant.
The questions were relating to locating services, finding images and finding videos on how to have sex as well as some based on the information provided by the NHS website.
The research showed that Google Assistant performed better than Siri, with 50% of best (or equal best) responses versus Siri’s 32%. Google Assistant had an outright failure rate (providing no useful response at all) of 12% compared with an outright failure rate from Siri of 36%.
The laptop searches, in comparison, were considerably more successful. Laptop-based Google searches resulted in 72% of the best (or equal best) responses, with an outright failure rate of 8%.
Our experiences suggest that people can find quality sexual health advice when searching online, but this is less likely if they use a digital assistant, especially Siri, instead of Google laptop searches. Parents too embarrassed to respond to their children’s questions about sex, can reasonably say “just Google it,” but we would not suggest asking Siri until it becomes more comfortable with talking about sex (or at least has an opinion).
Clearly, the ideal is to ensure that all sexual health advice searches, including those using slang, colloquialisms, or New Zealand accents, are always directed to high quality sites with up-to-date, evidence based recommendations
The authors
Siri was not as successful as Google (laptop) and Google Assistant at finding pictures of how to have sex and also failed to unveil any videos of people having sex. Siri also had repeated difficutly with the New Zealand accent, often confusing 'sex' with 'six'. When asked about the menopause, Siri found information about Menopause the Musical on Wikipedia and understood 'STI' to be stock market code. Siri was the most successful when asked to locate nearby services (such as the nearest place to buy condoms or obtain emergency contraception).
Google Assistant had fewer difficulties but provided a website link to 'St Ives' in Cornwall instead of information about 'STI's, when asked.
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