virtual assistant

American  

[vur-choo-uhl uh-sis-tuhnt] / ˈvɜr tʃu əl əˈsɪs tənt /

noun

1. a person, as a freelance office assistant, who works remotely in an administrative role.

2.  voice assistant.   digital assistant.  Digital Technology. a device or piece of software that can perform basic tasks and answer some questions in response to spoken natural language, often following a command or prompt.

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Etymology

Origin of virtual assistant

First recorded in 2000–05 virtual assistant for def. 1, and in 2010–15 virtual assistant for def. 2

Example Sentences

In early 2025, Bisha agreed to lend her face and voice to a virtual assistant for an online government services portal -- aimed at helping people navigate bureaucracy.

From Barron's • Feb. 26, 2026

Management noted on the recent earnings call that the company’s Meta AI product, which serves as a virtual assistant across the its social-media platforms, has more than 1 billion active users.

From MarketWatch • Nov. 10, 2025

Copilot exists as both a consumer app and a virtual assistant within the company’s enterprise tools.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 8, 2025

Google shows AI-generated summaries of search results, released an “AI mode” in search and has a virtual assistant called Gemini.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 2, 2025

That’s Vic-E, the virtual assistant that runs my mom’s condo.

From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas