Google Assistant - a new look at the virtual assistant

For the Daydream VR virtual platform, it also announced a Google Wifi router, Google Home smart speaker, and Chromecast Ultra. However, according to Google CEO Sundar Pichai, the key product is Google Assistant, with which the company associates the future development of its ecosystem.

At first glance, the search giant's new virtual assistant is essentially just an updated Google Now that has matured a bit and is more sociable. It's kind of like a symbiosis of Siri and a chatbot: you can ask him questions by voice or text, whether it's a solution to a math problem, an event from history, or directions to the nearest cinema, and he will try to answer them.

Of course, Google Now is good, but at some point the company decided that the voice assistant should be something more than just a guide. It should be a real personal assistant in the literal sense of the word. Thus, at yesterday's event, the capabilities of the Google Assistant were demonstrated, which becomes more “human”, understands your preferences and interests, knows what kind of music you listen to, offers you to watch a new video of your favorite artist on YouTube, checks the performance schedule and even book you a ticket to a concert. .

Where can I use the Google Assistant? So far, Google has implemented the function of its virtual assistant in three of its new products, and in each of them it performs different actions. Here are the basic principles of the assistant, based on what we already know:

Helper in Google Home

Google is developing this direction by analogy with what Amazon does with its Alexa voice assistant in the Echo smart speaker. The Google Home speaker is equipped with a microphone with which its owner can ask questions, and the built-in Assistant will answer them through the speaker. It is also capable of performing various commands: setting an alarm, controlling music playback, and much more. Curiously, this version of the Google Assistant is capable of controlling your smart home, Nest devices, Philips Hue lamps, and more. Google Home is also the only gadget where the assistant can manage your daily schedule.

Assistant in the Pixel smartphone

In Pixel smartphones, the assistant has become more “human”, like Siri in Apple devices. You can call the Assistant by holding the home button. In this implementation, it is not possible to ask and give commands by typing text. You must communicate with the Assistant by voice only. This version of the assistant has the advantage of being in control of the smartphone and can perform a wide range of actions. It also knows how to search for information that is currently displayed on the phone screen (essentially adopted this function from Now on Tap).

Assistant in the Allo app

In the messenger, the Assistant plays the role of a chatbot. Here you can communicate with him in text mode, ask the same questions and commands, only inside the chat. In response, you also receive text messages. In this regard, the Google Assistant is limited in device management.

As a result, Google will certainly try to combine different forms of presentation of its assistant, so that they are all more or less equivalent in terms of functionality. At this stage, Google is importing features from Google Now and Now on Tap into its Assistant, but is not yet in a hurry to completely replace its predecessors with it and "keeps" its new virtual assistant exclusively for some of its products.

What we're being shown here suggests that the Google Assistant will be more flexible and smarter than its competitors. Already, Google is talking about big plans to expand the functionality of the Assistant, including the possibility for third-party developers to integrate it into their products. By the way, Assistant is currently working with Uber, Spotify, SmartThings from Samsung and CNN. Google representatives say they will make the assistant open to everyone by the end of this year. And next year, Google will allow other companies to start introducing the assistant into their hardware products. That's when it gets really interesting.