14 DAY TRIAL // Google recently hosted an event during which it presented the new Pixel smartphones, as well as multiple other Google-branded devices that work together with the two phones. One major part of the presentation revolved around Google Assistant.
We first heard about Google Assistant back in May during Google I/O, when the company talked about its new Allo chat application. The app was later released and Google Assistant was a major integrating part.
The virtual assistant required access to all messages so that it could learn the user’s speak patterns, which made Google reconsider safety features on Allo. The app now stores messages on servers, but also comes with an Incognito mode with end-to-end encryption.
The recent presentation showed how Google Assistant was integrated into and worked across multiple Google-branded devices, including Allo and Google Home. Through Chromecast Ultra, it could help users control their TVs and the content they display.
By simply saying OK Google, users can call out the AI-powered Assistant on multiple devices. Sundar Pichai, Google's CEO, has said the company intends to make Assistant “universally available,” much like what Apple did with Siri.
Google will launch Assistant’s own bot ecosystem
Google Assistant does seem to resemble Google Now, but there are some major differences between the two virtual assistants. Google Now is available through the Google Android and iOS app, while Google Assistant is available in Google’s Allo chat app, as well as Google Home and Pixel phones.
It would make sense for Google to integrate the two virtual assistants together, but there’s no indication this could indeed happen at this point. Google Assistant has quite impressive features, as it helps users find various information online, schedule events and alarms, adjust hardware settings, pull up information from the user’s Google account or control playback on TVs using Chromecast Ultra.
Google Assistant can’t perform purchases yet, but it is able to follow conversations on Pixel phones and perform web searches automatically.
The Mountain View company also announced that the virtual assistant would get its own bot ecosystem called Actions on Google. The platform will launch in early December and Google will make an SDK available next year.
