Google I/O2018: Google Assistant gets new features, becomes smarter
Several updates have been announced to the Google Assistant at the company's ongoing Google I/O 2018 annual developer conference. The voice-enabled digital assistant is getting new voices, new app integrations, a feature to teach kids good manners, the ability to continue conversations, and the ability to talk to a real person over the phone quite naturally.
Google Assistant can make an actual phone call!
In a stunning live demo, Google Assistant made a real, natural-sounding phone call to book a salon appointment without the other person knowing she was talking to a bot. The conversation went back and forth on various time slots with Google Assistant finding a convenient booking according to the user's calendar. In future, it will automatically call businesses to confirm timings, especially during holidays.
Want Assistant to be natural to talk to: Google CEO
Now users can carry out a continuous conversation with Google Assistant without having to repeatedly say "Hey Google" before every query. You can ask the Assistant questions in a way of conversation until you naturally reach a stopping point. Google Assistant can now also handle multiple actions. This means you can ask it to perform several actions simultaneously in a single voice command.
Google Assistant to get more visually assistive
Google Assistant is becoming more visual with a revamped look and experience. At every opportunity, it will furnish full-screen pages of information about the weather forecast, your commute and calendar appointments, and your Keep to-do lists. This will be your personal, interactive dashboard which can be accessed by simply swiping up. You will also receive richer responses to queries with bigger pictures.
Set mood, switch off TV with "Hey Google, dinner's ready"
Routines in Google Assistant allow users to say "Hey Google, good night" and the former will switch off lights and start playing the music you like to sleep to on cue. Until now, you could only use preset routines like "good morning" and "I'm home." Now, you'll be able to create your own routines with custom phrases and also schedule them for specific times.
Order dinner using Google Assistant
The Google Assistant will now remember what you ordered from a food delivery app. This will save you an extra step if you want to reorder the same dish in the future. Google has also partnered with multiple food retailers like Starbucks, Domino's, and Dunkin' Donuts to streamline food pickup and delivery. Just say, "Hey Google, order my usual from Starbucks."
Google Assistant will teach kids manners
Google Assistant's new "pretty please" feature teaches kids to say "please" and "thank you." If a kid uses "please" while talking to the Assistant, it will be praised for asking for things politely and not being demanding with their commands.
Improvements, additions, integrations
The Assistant will be integrated with Google Maps to inform ETA, and will let users play music from YouTube without video. You can access smart home controls like setting temperature through the Assistant. It's adding six new voices including one based off singer John Legend.
