Son of Siri: Viv aims to go way beyond today’s digital assistants
Viv hopes to effectively supersede Google as "an intelligent interface to everything."
Topic: Voice user interface
Siri Comes To Apple TV & Could Make Search A Natural Part Of Watching
A Siri button on the new Apple TV remote lets users pull up weather, sports scores, and search across apps.
SearchCap: Google Mobile Algorithm Done, Cortana App Integration & Google Voice Actions
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. From Search Engine Land: Google Launches Custom Voice Actions For Third Party Apps Voice Actions will allow users to not only launch but explore content in apps. For Task Completion, Cortana Now Integrates More Deeply […]
Nest + Google Now = Google’s Now Predicting How Your Home Should Run
Google takes Google Now to the next level but integrating your home appliances directly into voice search and predictive search behavior.
Google Rolls Out Search App Redesign For Android Lollipop Devices
Google announced today it is rolling out a redesign of its Search App for Android devices running on the Lollipop OS. Along with the “…bold colors, fluid animations and simplified layouts” of the new material design, Google says the updated app allows Nexus 6, Nexus 9 and Galaxy Note 4 users to set their device […]
Google Upgrades Conversational Search On Its Mobile Apps
Conversational search on Google’s mobile apps got an upgrade today, as the company announced a few new voice commands that are specific to travel planning. Basically, the app is smarter about knowing where you are (at a hotel, for example), letting you complete actions by voice (i.e., making reservations via OpenTable), getting directions as part […]
Google Goes All-In With “OK, Google” Hands-Free Search
The evolution of voice-controlled search into a virtual personal assistant took another step forward with Google’s announcement that all Android-powered devices (KitKat or above) will now respond to the “hotword” OK, Google. Users can initiate a search or control and carry out any function on the device simply by saying “OK, Google” first and then […]
Google To Bring Always-On, “Eyes Free” Search To App
One of the most interesting and talked about features in the Motorola-made Moto X is always-on voice search. Activated by saying “OK, Google,” it permits totally hands-free search. Unfortunately this standout feature didn’t sell enough handsets to keep open Moto’s much-touted Texas smartphone factory. The “hotword” OK Google also currently works on the Google search app […]
Chrome’s Latest Updates Include New “OK Google” Voice Search Capabilities
Earlier this week, Google released new updates for Chrome OS devices, including new “hotwording” capabilities. According to the announcement, the “Okay Google” voice search is now available on Chrome’s New Tab Page and Google.com (the US version only). Darrell Etherington reported on TechCrunch that the new “Okay Google” voice search for Chrome works automatically, without […]
Rumor: Google To Broadly Expand “OK Google” Voice Actions
According to Android Police, Google is preparing a broad expansion of voice actions beyond its search app. The report describes this initiative as “OK Google Everywhere.” Voice actions would extend to other Google apps (e.g., mail, photos) and would also be contextually specific, taking on Google Now-like capabilities. Currently queries and some app-related commands can […]
Google Enables “OK Google” Hands-Free Voice Search On PCs
Through a Chrome browser extension users can now invoke the hotword (or hot phrase) “OK Google” to initiate hands-free searches on the PC. Voice search on Chrome was possible before but you needed to manually select the microphone. After the browser extension is installed you simply need to say “OK Google,” pause briefly and speak […]
Bing Previews Its Role In Providing Natural Language Voice Search On Xbox One
When Microsoft’s next-generation gaming console, the Xbox One, comes out on Friday, it will arrive with Bing built-in to power a range of searches from games to music to television programs — and searches you can do just by speaking to the Xbox. Today, Bing shared a preview of how this will work. On the […]
OK Google: How About OK Jarvis, OK Android, Or Even OK Barry
Android Community noticed that some other phrases outside of “OK Google” trigger the voice search on the latest Android operating system, KitKat. So I tested this on my Nexus 5 and discovered that OK Google has alternatives. I tested the following phrases that seemed to work: OK Glass OK Jarvis OK Android OK Barry Now, […]
Google iOS Search App Now Has “OK Google” Voice Activation, New Notifications, Reminders & Cards
Google released a new version of its iOS Search App today, with an extensive list of updates, including new notifications, reminder alerts, cards and a handsfree search activation feature. With the 3.1.0 version of the iOS Search App, those with the iPhone 4s or higher can say, “OK Google” or touch the mic to start […]
Google Glass Diary, Part 3: How Search Works On Google Glass
There are seven voice commands built into this first “Explorers” edition of Google Glass. Two of those six are search-related: “google…” and “get directions to….” The others are “take a photo,” “record a video,” “send a message to,” “make a call to” and “start a Hangout with.” There’s also the predictive search aspect of Google […]
“OK Google” — Hands-Free, Conversational Search Coming From Google
Google has allowed you to speak your search to it on the desktop and mobile devices for some time, but now it’s going to get smarter — talking back to you and continuing the conversation you started. Google shared details at its Google I/O 2013 developer event today and also in a blog post that’s […]
Study Hints At Long-Term Siri Threat To Google In Mobile
Apple Insider is reporting, based on a study by investment firm Piper Jaffray, that Siri today (iOS 6) relies on Google considerably less than it did in iOS 5. That’s partly a result of the switch from Google’s local data in Maps to Apple’s own mapping data. However another part of the change is probably the […]
Piper Jaffray “Street Test” Of Google vs. Siri Misses The Point
No sooner did I hit “publish” on my earlier post, Google’s “Voice Assistant” Not Quite Siri-Smart But Most People Won’t Notice, than people on Twitter started responding that I was out of my mind. A couple of people cited a Piper Jaffray study, published yesterday, comparing the accuracy and breadth of Siri “search results” vs. […]
Google’s “Voice Assistant” Not Quite Siri-Smart But Most People Won’t Notice
At Google I/O this week Google introduced spoken search results, which mimic Siri’s functionality on the iPhone. Siri had been a major point of differentiation between Android handsets and the iPhone, despite Google’s preexisting voice search. The new Google female voice actually sounds less like a machine and more natural than Siri. And there are […]
Apple Siri To Add Sports, Restaurants, Reservations, Movies & App Search
Apple at their World Wide Developer Conference today announced iOS6 with some really nice features to Siri, their voice search engine. You can see a preview of some of these features at Apple.com but here is a snapshot showing enhancements including: Sports Search Restaurants with Reservation Booking Movie Search & Ticketing Search For Apps On […]
Bing Becomes Hub Of Microsoft’s New Xbox Experience
As promised, Bing is the focus of a new Xbox experience that’s launching this week. Beginning on Tuesday, Xbox Live users who also have Kinect will be able to use their voice — and Bing’s search technology — to find different types of content that are available on their television, including movies from Netflix, TV […]
How Siri Patches Up The iPhone’s Voice Search Weakness Vs. Android
The Siri voice search assistant that Apple demoed today as part of its big press event looks pretty impressive. If it works as shown, it’ll go a long way in patching up one of the big weaknesses the iPhone has had versus Android, that of lacking built-in voice commands. Voice Actions: A Spoken Magic Wand […]
With New Siri Promised For iPhone 4S, Apple Pulls Existing Siri From App Store
All excited about Siri coming to the iPhone 4S? It does look pretty cool. And many people enjoyed using a version of Siri already on existing iPhones. But that enjoyment appears to be over, as the Siri app no longer works consistently. Siri Gone For Some, Gone From App Store I fired up Siri on […]
Bing Adds Voice-Guided Turn-by-Turn Navigation To Windows Mobile App
Bing has added voice-guided turn-by-turn navigation to the Bing mobile app for Windows Phones 6.1 and above. Bing thus joins Google, Nokia and to a lesser degree MapQuest in offering free mobile navigation services. It also means more woe for the PND makers (TomTom, Garmin, et al). The voice component of the Bing navigation service […]
Siri: Not A “Search Engine” But You Might Use It Like One
When I’ve spoken in the past to people at Siri we’ve discussed and they’ve struggled a bit with how to present and “position” what they’re doing. Described as a “virtual personal assistant” — and called the “Siri Assistant” in fact in its formal launch — the company’s much anticipated iPhone app has arrived. There will […]
Ask Mobile Adds “Click To Speak” Directions
Ask’s Mobile WAP site has added voice to the process of getting directions. The voice-activated service is provided by Dial Directions. On the mobile Ask site, next to the “Directions” link you’ll find a new “Voice Entry” link. That sends users to the Dial Directions phone number (347-328-4667) or initiates a phone call. Users then […]
Microsoft Announces Tellme Acquisition
Here’s the press release confirming the acquisition we reported on yesterday.
Is Voice And Mobile Search Company TellMe For Sale?
TechCrunch speculates that voice services and mobile local search provider TellMe is going to be sold to Microsoft. Right now this is unconfirmed rumor. But it would be a very interesting acquisition for Microsoft, and addition to their mobile local search/voice assets, if true. I’ve written more about this on my blog. And here’s previous […]
TellMe To Launch New Mobile Local Search Product
Spotted this morning via TechCrunch, speech and directory assistance automation provider TellMe is about to launch a beta product called TellMe by Mobile. It’s free, direct-to-consumer, voice-enabled directory assistance (DA) or “mobile local search” if you want to “sexify” the product.