5 Digital Assistant Apps That Will Make You More Productive

If you’re looking to boost your productivity, digital assistant apps could be the answer. Since it may not be feasible to hire an actual personal assistant, many of these apps are the next best thing. The question many ask is, with such an abundance of personal assistant apps out there, which ones are the best?

Smart virtual personal assistants (SVPAs) have been an ongoing trend for a few years now, first entering the market in 2013. The result has been the release of many SVPAs, some being a notable success, like Cortana and Siri, while others are lacking.

Below, we’ve rounded up the top five digital assistant apps that will help boost your productivity:

24me

24me offers an all-in-one package for a virtual personal assistant. Its to-do list, notes and calendar help you stay on schedule and on top of projects. Its ability to connect to your bank account, service providers and social accounts provides you with the most seamless management of day-to-day tasks imaginable — like paying bills directly from the app.

Their “My Links” feature puts information from your social networks, service providers and financials all in one place. You can also keep track of anniversaries, birthdays and other events. Purchasing and sending gifts via the app is also possible.

Wunderlist

If you tend to work most efficiently when working from a list, Wunderlist could be the perfect SVPA app for you. The app lets you organize and share a variety of lists, from project to-dos to groceries, and set reminders. You can also collaborate with others, which is very useful for co-workers who want to communicate clearly and concisely. All list updates are automatically pinged.

Free on Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad, Android and the web, it’s a recommended app for any list-centric person in need of reminders and thorough organization.

Indigo Virtual Assistant

One of the ideal parts of an assistant is less typing on your end. As a result, voice-recognition is often a primary feature of quality digital assistant apps. Indigo Virtual Assistant uses voice as a central component of its offerings.

In addition to sending and reading emails, tweets and texts, Indigo is an all-in-one translator, weather forecaster, direction-finder and task-reminder that’s fully voice-receptive. The app touts its ability to sync with other apps and devices to help you find whatever it is you want or need at that moment — like new restaurants with Yelp, videos on YouTube or music through its music player.

SpeakToIt was a highly popular voice-centric SVPA for several years, though increasingly diverse apps like Indigo are poised to take its place.

HOUND Voice Search and Assistant

A relative newcomer to the SVPA scene, HOUND Voice Search and Assistant launched in early 2016 and emphasized its ability to understand natural-spoken dialogue. Another voice-centric personal assistant, you can easily tell HOUND to get hourly news from a news source, make phone calls, search the web and Wikipedia, listen to music and use GPS navigation.

HOUND will even respond accurately to specialized requests like “Split a $120 bill two ways with a 15% tip” and “Show hotels in Boston that are pet-friendly, have a swimming pool and cost less than $300.” It’s a sophisticated SVPA that works nicely for communicative task-makers.

Dragon Mobile Assistant

The Dragon Mobile Assistant touts seamless voice recognition with Nuance’s voice command technology, allowing users to modify wake-up time, check appointments, post on social media and create their own voiceprint, so only their specific voice can issue commands. You can even choose a voice and name for your assistant, enhancing the feeling that it’s truly your own personal assistant.

Digital assistant apps are a great way to improve organization and general efficiency, boosting productivity and making your day-to-day life more planned and stress-free.