Google Assistant: The Next Generation

During a demonstration at Google’s I/O developer’s event on Tuesday, Google unveiled a host of new improvements to their Google Assistant technology that will be featured on their “new pixel phones” later this year. Google Assistant serves as a user’s virtual assistant on mobile devices and tablets through artificial intelligence. In addition to what the technology can already do, the new and improved version of Google Assistant boasts massive improvements to its performance and features. These new updates push the virtual assistant technology to its fullest potential. Here are some of the most important updates that will come with the Next Generation Google Assistant:

The Improved Speed of Assistant’s
Voice Recognition Program

The greatest
new feature may be improvement in voice-recognition
speed, which is now
ten times faster than previous versions. Google was able to reduce the size of
the program to 0.5GB from 100GB.  During
the demo, Google showed off just how fast the
Assistant can now respond
to voice commands. Multiple commands were completed in quick succession with
the words “Hey Google!” ever needing to be said. Users will now be able to do
such tasks as open apps, stop alarms, and reply to texts with very little wait
time. This improvement allows for whole emails to be completely composed
through voice commands. The efficiency that the Assistant will gain allows a
user to seamlessly communicate with the technology as if it really is a person
in the room with them. You and your friends will now be able to order that Uber
through voice commands!

New Personalization Features

Google
Assistant will now know where your family and friends live. One of the new
features includes making the personal assistant really get to know you. The new
“You” tab feature will organize personal info and give you the options of
answer questions to provide more information about your contacts. Google
Assistant will now have the ability to identify your contact’s addresses and
birthdays. This “You” tab will also contain questions to help give better
recommendations for everything including restaurants, podcasts, events, and
recipes. A personal assistant, a travel advisor, and a cultured friend!

A New Driving Mode Feature in Google Assistant

Activated by
saying “Hey Google, let’s drive”, the new “Driving Mode” will be your permanent
front seat passenger. The feature will have personalized recommendations along
your trip and it can provide shortcuts or alternate routes without even being
prompted. It will be initiate actions for you like resuming a podcast, bringing
up directions to dinner reservations, and screening your incoming phone calls.
Driving Mode will be able to do everything that your friend who always falls
asleep is supposed to do!

Google Duplex is Coming to the Web

Duplex is an
AI technology so advanced, it weirded people out. The feature was able to answer
phone calls and talk to people as well as recognize spam. It could pay bills,
make dinner reservations, and interact with other automated phone services,
which would free you up from those inconvenient phone calls. That technology
will now be coming to the web. The Assistant will be able to fill out forms,
make online purchases, and navigate around the internet with ease. You’ll
basically have a robot version of yourself to do all your inconvenient tasks!

These new
features will most likely be available on the Pixel 4, which is set to release
later this year. Yes, there are a lot of similarities when it comes to
Android’s Auto App, but having all of this organized within Google and its
wealth of resources will only improve the user experience. Your phone will
actually start becoming a personal assistant that really knows you. Google
Assistant is set to transform how users interact with their phone.