The HomePod is having an issue understanding the simple query "What time is it?" right now. Apple will probably fix it soon.
You can't ask Siri what time it is on HomePod for the moment
Users of Siri know that there are many basic queries that could be asked, which result in straightforward results. One common query is to ask Siri the time, which is helpful if the user can't see a clock nearby.
However, social media users started to report on Tuesday that asking Siri for the time was coming up with a completely different answer on HomePod. In many cases, Siri seems to believe that users want to know about a web result.
Rooting for Apple on this AI stuff but my current HomePod status is
-- Billiam (@lostincode) May 2, 2024
"Siri, what time is it?"
"I've found some web results. I can show them to you if you ask again on your iPhone"
The claims were confirmed by AppleInsider editorial members, who were repeatedly told by Siri the wrong result. Siri frequently offered the opening line to the Wikipedia page for "What Time Is It? (song)" instead of the actual time.
"'What Time is It?' is the opening musical number and first single from the Disney Channel Original Movie High School Musical 2,'" Siri said many times, For others, it skipped the listing and said that more search results were available via iPhone.
Siri on iPhone, the iPad, and Mac are unaffected by the issue, and deliver the local time as usual.
The problem seems to be an issue that Apple has to deal with on its servers, rather than one on the HomePod itself. It is probable that Apple will quickly fix the issue in the near future, without needing to roll out an update.