Google Now On Tap Finds In-App Answers, Navigates Between Apps Seamlessly

Like a monkey swinging from tree to tree, Google Now on Tap is able to navigate between apps and generate more information about the content in apps without ever conducting a formal search.

Those capabilities were demonstrated earlier today at our SMX Paris search conference by Google’s Behshad Behzadi, who’s director of conversational search.

In the video below, for example, Behzadi asks Google for more information about Swiss tennis player Stan Wawrinka, using the pronoun “he,” asking “how many grand slams has he won?” Google understands that “he” is Wawrinka, featured in the app.

Behzadi also did the same with content in Google Chrome using a similarly ambiguous question featuring pronouns:

For the first time, Google also demonstrated how Now on Tap could move you through a search-and-action process across multiple apps rather than just being linked to a single one.

Behzadi showed how a chat between friends mentioning a restaurant caused Now on Tap to bring up an information box allowing access to Yelp information about the restaurant. In turn, from the Yelp app, the Now on Tap feature gave access to Open Table, so that a reservation at the restaurant could be made.

https://twitter.com/dannysullivan/status/608286137325633536

Not once in the process were keywords entered, illustrating how from context alone, Now on Tap can help people find information and take actions.

Here’s the unedited version that shows the whole process completely:

Across a range of search-related fronts Google is adding convenience, utility and some gee-whiz features to make search more useful and engaging to smartphone owners. Now on Tap, in-app deep-linking and touch-to-search are all part of this multi-pronged initiative.

Behzadi also demonstrated Google’s new feature on Android and iPhone that allows you to ask for information about nearby places and things without having to actually say their names. See our separate story for more about that: [WATCH] Google’s Amazing Location-Aware Search Finds Answers About Nearby Places.