Google Assistant is a virtual personal assistant developed by Google that is primarily available on mobile and smart home devices. Unlike Google Now, the Google Assistant can engage in two-way conversations.
Assistant initially debuted in May 2016 as part of Google's messaging app Allo, and its voice-activated speaker Google Home. After a period of exclusivity on the Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones, it began to be deployed on other Android devices in February 2017, including third-party smartphones and Android Wear, and was released as a standalone app on the iOS operating system in May. Alongside the announcement of a software development kit in April 2017, the Assistant has been, and is being, further extended to support a large variety of devices, including cars and smart home appliances. The functionality of the Assistant can also be enhanced by third-party developers.
Users primarily interact with the Google Assistant through natural voice, though keyboard input is also supported. In the same nature and manner as Google Now, the Assistant is able to search the Internet, schedule events and alarms, adjust hardware settings on the user's device, and show information from the user's Google account. Google has also announced that the Assistant will be able to identify objects and gather visual information through the device's camera, and support purchasing products and sending money, as well as identifying songs.
At CES 2018, the first Assistant-powered smart displays (smart speakers with screens) were announced, with a planned release for summer 2018.
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History
The Google Assistant was unveiled during Google's developer conference on May 18, 2016, as part of the unveiling of the Google Home smart speaker and new messaging app Allo; Google CEO Sundar Pichai explained that the Assistant was designed to be a conversational and two-way experience, and "an ambient experience that extends across devices". Later that month, Google assigned Google Doodle leader Ryan Germick and hired former Pixar animator Emma Coats to develop "a little more of a personality."
Platform expansion
For system-level integration outside of the Allo app and Google Home, the Google Assistant was initially exclusive to the Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones. In February 2017, Google announced that it had begun to enable access to the Assistant on Android smartphones running Android Marshmallow or Nougat, beginning in select English-speaking markets. Android tablets did not receive the Assistant as part of this rollout. The Assistant is also integrated in Android Wear 2.0, and will be included in future versions of Android TV and Android Auto. In October 2017, the Google Pixelbook became the first laptop to include Google Assistant. Google Assistant later came to the Google Pixel Buds. In December 2017, Google announced that the Assistant would be released for phones running Android Lollipop through an update to Google Play Services, as well as tablets running 6.0 Marshmallow and 7.0 Nougat.
On May 15, 2017, Android Police reported that the Google Assistant would be coming to the iOS operating system as a separate app. The information was confirmed two days later at Google's developer conference.
In January 2018 at the Consumer Electronics Show, the first Assistant-powered "smart displays" were released. Smart displays were shown at the event from Lenovo, Sony, JBL and LG. These devices have support for Google Duo video calls, YouTube videos, Google Maps directions, a Google Calendar agenda, viewing of smart camera footage, in addition to services which work with Google Home devices. These devices are planned for an initial release in summer 2018, with third-party developer support coming later in the year.
Developer support
In December 2016, Google launched "Actions on Google", a developer platform for the Google Assistant. Actions on Google further enhances the Assistant user experience by enabling developers to bring their services to the Assistant. In March 2017, Google added new tools for developing on Actions on Google to support the creation of games for the Google Assistant. Originally limited to the Google Home smart speaker, Actions on Google was made available to Android and iOS devices in May 2017, at which time Google also introduced an app directory for overview of compatible products and services. To incentivize developers to build Actions, Google announced a competition in which it will select winners based on categories, including "Best app by students" and "Best life hack." Winners will be announced by Google, and first place wins tickets to Google's 2018 developer conference, $10,000, and a walk-through of Google's campus, while second place and third place receive $7,500 and $5,000, respectively, and Google Home.
In April 2017, a software development kit (SDK) was released, allowing third-party developers to build their own hardware that can run the Google Assistant. It has been integrated into Raspberry Pi, cars from Audi and Volvo, and smart home appliances, including fridges, washers, and ovens, from companies including iRobot, LG, General Electric, and D-Link. Google updated the SDK in December 2017 to add several features only the Google Home smart speakers and Google Assistant smartphone apps had previously supported, including letting third-party device makers incorporate their own "Actions on Google" commands for their respective products, as well as incorporating text-based interactions and more languages, and allowing users to set a precise geographic location for the device to enable improved location-specific queries.
Virtual Assistant Team Video
Interaction
The Google Assistant, in the nature and manner of Google Now, can search the Internet, schedule events and alarms, adjust hardware settings on the user's device, and show information from the user's Google account. Unlike Google Now, however, the Assistant can engage in a two-way conversation, using Google's natural language processing algorithm. Search results are presented in a card format that users can tap to open the page. In February 2017, Google announced that users of Google Home would be able to shop entirely by voice for products through its Google Express shopping service, with products available from Whole Foods Market, Costco, Walgreens, PetSmart, and Bed Bath & Beyond at launch, and other retailers added in the following months as new partnerships were formed. The Google Assistant can maintain a shopping list; this was previously done within the notetaking service Google Keep, but the feature was moved to Google Express and the Google Home app in April 2017, resulting in a severe loss of functionality.
In May 2017, Google announced that the Assistant would support a keyboard for typed input and visual responses, support identifying objects and gather visual information through the device's camera, and support purchasing products and sending money. Through the use of the keyboard, users can see a history of queries made to the Google Assistant, and edit or delete previous inputs. The Assistant warns against deleting, however, due to its use of previous inputs to generate better answers in the future. In November 2017, it became possible to identify songs currently playing by asking the Assistant.
Reception
PC World's Mark Hachman gave a favorable review of the Google Assistant, saying that it was a "step up on Cortana and Siri."
Supported devices
- Google Home
- Google Home Mini
- Google Home Max
- Android Lollipop and higher (Android 5.0+) phones (with 1.5GB RAM or higher and 720p (HD) resolution or higher)
- Android Marshmallow and higher (Android 6.0+) tablets
- iOS 9.3 and higher (via the Apple App Store)
- Android Wear 2.0+ smartwatches
- Google Pixelbook
- JBL Link 300
- Sony LF-S50G
- Zolo Mojo (from Anker)
- Panasonic GA10
- Onkyo G3
- Mobvoi TicHome Mini
- Insignia Smart Voice Speaker
- Nvidia Shield set-top box
- iHome iGV1 smart clock
- LG ThinQ smart speaker
- LG Smart TVs (all 2018 models)
- LG ThinQ View smart display (coming in summer 2018)
- Lenovo Smart Display (coming in summer 2018)
- JBL View smart display (coming in summer 2018)
- Sony smart display (coming in summer 2018)
- Sonos One (coming in 2018)
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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