Google: Google Assistant
Google Assistant is both the name of a consumer-facing assistant baked into consumer products as well as a platform designed to allow the Google search engine to interact with users in a conversational manner.
Google Assistant was announced in May 2016. It first appeared integrated into Google’s communication app Allo in September 2016. In October 2016, it was made part of the Google Pixel phone. In November 2016, it was put into the Google Home device. In February 2017, it came to Android Wear watches. In March 2017, it was widely released for Android phones running Android 6 and 7.
Google plans to add Google Assistant into more products and applications, but it hasn’t said what those will be.
For more about Google Assistant, see our stories below.
Usage of voice has plateaued — for now
Compared with past growth, 2020 survey data show flat-to-declining usage....
The Google Assistant may start calling businesses to confirm in-stock inventory
Google is expanding the use cases of its 'Duplex' AI...
Google Assistant’s ‘confirm with voice match’ gives new meaning to ‘contactless payments’
Intriguing new feature could simply be a test or the future of shopping on the Google Assistant....
Google Rich Results testing tool adds support for ‘How To’ markup for Google Home displays
You can now test your pages in real time to see how Google can display your how-to pages on smart...
Nine voice search stats to close out 2019
A look back at some of the year's key voice search and virtual assistant metrics. ...
Google brings ‘Interpreter Mode’ language translation to the Assistant on smartphones
The capability was introduced previously on Google Home and smart displays....
Google’s ‘Duplex on the web’ enables the Assistant to buy movie tickets for you
The move is part of a much larger strategy to host the transaction. ...
Preview your recipe results on Google Home Hub devices
Google has updated the rich results testing tool to preview recipes on smart displays using Google...
CallJoy, Google’s virtual phone agent for SMBs, gets an upgrade
The service is Google's first real foray into SaaS for SMBs....
Google ramps up investment in wearable technology, enters deal to buy Fitbit for $2.1 billion
Fitbit-successor wearables will be Assistant-centric devices, supported by...
Voice assistant study: Microsoft’s Cortana offers most answers, Google Assistant proves most accurate
Perficient Digital ran 5,000 queries on seven devices including Alexa, Cortana, Google Assistant (Home, smartphones) and Siri....
Google begins testing Duplex internationally
Duplex will be powering automated calls to confirm holiday business hours in New...
Google Assistant in Chrome testing Duplex to help users buy movie tickets
The Assistant’s transaction-handling abilities take a step...
Google’s Assistant-everywhere strategy reminiscent of old site search playbook
Google Assistant "syndication" is a way to battle Amazon Alexa and expand its reach for later...
Voice assistant usage now at ‘critical mass’ as Google Assistant crowned smartest
Google Assistant scored 93%, Siri 83% and Alexa got 80% of answers right in a recent study....
Google Search Console doesn’t show data for featured snippets read by Google Assistant
In the second episode of #AskGoogleWebmasters, John Mueller explained some voice search nuances in...
Google swaps ‘voice search’ on Android for Google Assistant
Goodbye voice search, hello Google Assistant. The company is swapping out the familiar blue and red mic in favor of its Assistant on the home...
Study: 48% of consumers use voice assistants for general web search
Despite concerns about accuracy and privacy, the Adobe survey presents a mostly positive outlook for voice and virtual...
Alexa, Google Home now battling perception of being ‘surveillance’ devices
A new incident fuels the perception that smart speakers are spying on their...
Bullish forecast predicts 31 million Americans will ‘shop’ on their smart speakers in 2019
In this case, "shopping" doesn't include purchasing; however, digital goods and product re-ordering are also poised for growth....