The Assistant That Misheard
A free A1-level English story for language learners, readable online in 7 languages, with an option to listen via the free Storyteller app.
Saoirse's voice assistant hears "add milk to my list" as "add mill tour to my calendar," and she has to slow down to fix her shopping list.
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Saoirse uses a voice assistant on her phone. She asks it to add things to her list. Most mornings, it understands her just fine. Today, she is in a hurry before school.
"Add milk to my list," Saoirse says quickly. "Adding 'mill tour' to your calendar," the assistant replies.
Saoirse stops and stares at her phone. "That is not what I said," she says.
She opens her calendar to check. A new event sits there: "Mill Tour, Friday."
Saoirse laughs out loud at the mistake. She deletes the strange calendar event fast.
She tries again, speaking slowly and clearly. "Add. Milk. To. My. Shopping. List," she says.
The assistant pauses, then answers calmly. "Milk added to your shopping list," it says.
Saoirse checks the list on her screen. "Milk" sits right there, spelled correctly.
She adds a few more items carefully. "Add eggs and bread to my list too."
The assistant repeats each item back to her. "Eggs and bread added to your shopping list."
Saoirse smiles and grabs her school bag. "That works," she says, and walks out the door. Her shopping list waits, correct and complete. On the bus, she reads it one last time. No mill tours, just milk, eggs, and bread.
