Why Are Siri Suggestions so Weird in Safari?
Search options can be great, fun, and creepy at the same time. The intent makes sense: Save a few keystrokes by giving you what you most likely wanted to type before you even finish the phrase. And I think we can all agree that saving time and keystrokes is usually a good thing, unless the suggestion is totally and horribly wrong.
As Lifehacker reader Jen writes in this week’s Tech 911 Q&A:
Can you help resolve a dispute between my husband and me over Siri suggesting auto-complete websites when using safari? I run a rental site in the sniffspot.com app (these are private dog parks, rented on a private property). I visit the site a lot and all I have to do is enter snif and Safari auto fills in the rest: SniffSpot.com.
I typed in “sniff” last night and Siri automatically filled it in and suggested “Sniffies.com”. This is a site for instant connections in your area.
My husband and I are fighting right now ? I believe this suggestion is based on search history or perceived interests of Siri based on the types of apps you visit frequently. Hubby says no. It is simply based on which sites are popular based on the word “sniff”. What do you think?
Siri’s suggestions aren’t always the smartest
It’s fun. I resist the urge to say something like Siri opens “Sniffies.com” because of some association that’s already determined by your browsing habits, apps on your phone, or other information from your device or habits. It’s a light joke, but as Apple told Buzzfeed two years ago:
“Siri recommended websites are based on content on the Internet, and we provide supervision to help you avoid unwanted sites. We also remove any inappropriate offers whenever we become aware of them, as we do with them. We will continue to work to deliver high quality results and users can submit results that they feel are inappropriate to [email protected]. “
My initial reaction is that Siri Suggestions for Websites is simply making the best guess based on some analysis that Google – Safari’s default search engine – usually returns as a suggestion or top listing. The odd thing, however, is that Siri suggestions tend to suck.
Here’s an example of yours that I was able to easily reproduce in the Safari browser on my iPhone, but the fun doesn’t end there. Take this one I just found on my iPhone:
I can guarantee you that I have not been shopping for cats, not looking for purchases for cats or even interested in buying a cat at the moment. I’m not talking to Siri about cats; There are no cat apps on my phone. I can’t even stand cats in a musical. While I would definitely have another cat at some point, I don’t think Siri knows about it (and now I just don’t have room for one).
Have I ever been to cats5.net? No. Does the query “cat”, “cats” or anything related to cats push “cats5.net” to the top of Google results in my browser on my computer? No. Using Safari for iOS? No . Do I have any idea why this “Siri suggested the website?” Honestly, no. This seems like a pretty cheesy guess on the part of Apple’s digital assistant, and I’m not sure what scheme “cats5.net” created to make it appear this way – other than silly luck.
So, answering your question, I think you are both wrong. The “suggested website” is based on Apple’s interpretation of what you are likely to want to see on the Internet as you type different words – or start different words, as your case suggests – based on the information it pulls from the Internet (oddly enough he combines it and decides). Apple kind of hints at this in another support document :
“Safari has one field for search and web addresses, so you can browse the web from one convenient location. When search engine suggestions are enabled, Safari will ask the search engine of your choice for suggestions based on what you entered. “
I do not believe that the “Siri Recommended website” is based on the apps you visit frequently, and I don’t believe it is based on sites that are “popular” for a given word or phrase. This last bit is actually the Most Popular option that you will sometimes see instead of Recommended by Siri, for example:
But I don’t think “cat5.net” is a very popular website, and certainly not popular enough for Siri to consider his website recording for the word “cats.” I am still puzzled by this. So much so that I recommend simply ditching Siri suggestions entirely to avoid any additional confusion or ambiguity.
Open the Settings app and click on Safari (not Siri & Search, as you might initially suspect). Disable Safari Suggestions to make this field disappear forever. It will also change the Greatest Hits section and make it appear less frequently, but I think it’s a worthy compromise. Then everyone wins, right?