Mycroft AI
  • Documentation
  • About Mycroft AI
    • Why use Mycroft AI?
    • Glossary of terms
    • Contributing
    • FAQ
  • Using Mycroft AI
    • Get Mycroft
      • Mark II
        • Mark II Dev Kit
      • Mark 1
      • Picroft
      • Linux
      • Mac OS and Windows with VirtualBox
      • Docker
      • Android
    • Pairing Your Device
    • Basic Commands
    • Installing New Skills
    • Customizations
      • Configuration Manager
      • mycroft.conf
      • Languages
        • Français (French)
        • Deutsch (German)
      • Using a Custom Wake Word
      • Speech-To-Text
      • Text-To-Speech
    • Troubleshooting
      • General Troubleshooting
      • Audio Troubleshooting
      • Wake Word Troubleshooting
      • Log Files
      • Support Skill
      • Getting more support
  • Skill Development
    • Voice User Interface Design Guidelines
      • What can a Skill do?
      • Design Process
      • Voice Assistant Personas
      • Interactions
        • Intents
        • Statements and Prompts
        • Confirmations
      • Conversations
      • Error Handling
      • Example Interaction Script
      • Prototyping
      • Design to Development
    • Development Setup
      • Python Resources
      • Your First Skill
    • Skill Structure
      • Lifecycle Methods
      • Logging
      • Skill Settings
      • Dependencies
        • Manifest.yml
        • Requirements files
      • Filesystem access
      • Skill API
    • Integration Tests
      • Test Steps
      • Scenario Outlines
      • Test Runner
      • Reviewing the Report
      • Adding Custom Steps
      • Old Test System
    • User interaction
      • Intents
        • Padatious Intents
        • Adapt Intents
      • Statements
      • Prompts
      • Parsing Utterances
      • Confirmations
      • Conversational Context
      • Converse
    • Displaying information
      • GUI Framework
      • Show Simple Content
      • Mycroft-GUI on a PC
      • Mark 1 Display
    • Advanced Skill Types
      • Fallback Skill
      • Common Play Framework
      • Common Query Framework
      • Common IoT Framework
    • Mycroft Skills Manager
      • Troubleshooting
    • Marketplace Submission
      • Skills Acceptance Process
        • Information Review Template
        • Code Review Template
        • Functional Review Template
        • Combined Template
      • Skill README.md
    • FAQ
  • Mycroft Technologies
    • Technology Overview
    • Roadmap
    • Mycroft Core
      • MessageBus
      • Message Types
      • Services
        • Enclosure
        • Voice Service
        • Audio Service
        • Skills Service
      • Plugins
        • Audioservice Plugins
        • STT Plugins
        • TTS Plugins
        • Wake Word Plugins
      • Testing
      • Legacy Repo
    • Adapt
      • Adapt Examples
      • Adapt Tutorial
    • Lingua Franca
    • Mimic TTS
      • Mimic 3
      • Mimic 2
      • Mimic 1
      • Mimic Recording Studio
    • Mycroft GUI
      • Remote STT and TTS
    • Mycroft Skills Kit
    • Mycroft Skills Manager
    • Padatious
    • Precise
    • Platforms
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On this page
  • Open source
  • Respecting your privacy
  • More hardware, more choices
  • Lightweight
  • Community

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  1. About Mycroft AI

Why use Mycroft AI?

Why would you choose to use Mycroft over alternatives such as Amazon™ Alexa™, Google Assistant™, Microsoft Cortana™ or Apple's Siri™?

PreviousDocumentationNextGlossary of terms

Last updated 5 years ago

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Why would you choose to use Mycroft over alternatives such as Amazon™ Alexa™, Google Assistant™, Microsoft Cortana™ or Apple's Siri™?

Great question!

While alternative tools are readily available, and easy to use, they come with some pretty big downsides.

Open source

Mycroft is open source. This means that the code used by Mycroft can be inspected, copied, modified, and contributed back to the Mycroft community for everyone to enjoy.

Tools like Amazon™ Alexa™, Google Assistant™, Microsoft Cortana™ or Apple's Siri™ are black boxes. That is, you can't look inside them, and see what they do - or importantly - how they do it. And while they may allow you some flexibility to create new Skills, these are usually strictly controlled. Mycroft gives you freedom, flexibility and control over how your want your voice assistant to work. Mycroft is AI for everyone.

Mycroft code is licensed under the .

Respecting your privacy

Mycroft uses opt-in privacy. This means we will only record what you say to Mycroft with your explicit permission. Don't want us to record your voice? No problem! If you'd like us to help Mycroft become more accurate, you can opt in to have your voice anonymously recorded.

You're welcome to view our

More hardware, more choices

Mycroft runs on a wide range of software platforms and hardware - meaning that you can run Mycroft on the Devices you want. Try Mycroft on a Raspberry Pi, on an Android device - or on your Linux desktop.

Lightweight

Mycroft is lightweight, and will run on low-powered hardware, such as the Raspberry Pi 3. So if you're a Hacker, Maker or Hobbyist, it's the perfect platform for low cost experimentation.

Community

Mycroft has a vibrant, engaged and helpful community. You can interact with the community via:

Chat -

Forum -

Apache 2 open source license
privacy policy
https://chat.mycroft.ai
https://community.mycroft.ai