Category: Google Assistant

The first fruits of the merged Nest and Google Hardware teams is starting to show.  A new update to the Nest app brings Google Assistant to the Nest Cam IQ Indoor Camera.  The app update is rolling out now in the Play Store and once it is updated, it will enable Assistant so you can use voice commands to view and control the camera.

This is the first Nest device that has Assistant integrated into it but it likely is the tip of the iceberg.  When the merger between the two teams was announced, one of the specific things mentioned was bringing Google AI and Machine Learning to Nest devices.

It is no secret that Google has big plans for Google Assistant across devices and into new countries.  But the scope of that growth wasn’t very clear until now.  Thanks to Dutch tech writer Elgar van der Wel, we now have a glimpse of what is to come for Assistant in 2018.

Elgar tweeted a shot of a slide from a DNI Summit event in Amsterdam that shows the growth plans and it is impressive.

Voor het eerst officieel uitgesproken door Google: Google Assistent komt dit jaar naar Nederland (we zijn blauw op de kaart!) #dnisummit #dni2018 pic.twitter.com/fYyU12FWpD

— Elger van der Wel (@elger) February 15, 2018

The slide is a bit hard to read but the plan is for Google Assistant to be available in 17 new language and 38 new countries.

There is little doubt that Google is on a mission to add Google Assistant to all the things.  That, now apparently, includes your Chromebook.  A new merged commit in the Chromium Gerrit suggest that Google Assistant flags will be coming to Chrome OS.  This means that any device on the platform, assuming it meets performance specs, could potentially have Assistant a tap away.

Right now Google Assistant on Chrome OS is exclusive to the Google Pixelbook.  For that device, a specific build, which enables Google Assistant, is provided each time there is a build update on the platform.  But, according to this commit, a flag option could be made available to enable it on any device.

Google has begun rolling out a feature Google Home visualization feature today, allowing you to ask Google Assistant to display the weather forecast on your Chromecast enabled device.  The new feature is a cloud-side change so there is nothing for you to do.  You will know when you have the feature on your account when you ask Assistant on your Google Home, “Hey Google, show me the weather on my Chromecast”.

Visualizations with Assistant and Home were shows last year at Google I/O as a way to improve getting personalized content.  In the case of the weather, you can visually see the weather forecast instead of having to listen to Assistant read it back to you on your device or Google Home.

If you are aiming to get to Google I/O 2018, your first important date is February 22nd. That is when ticket sales begin at 10:00 AM Pacific which is more-or-less a ticket into the lottery to be selected.

The lottery system has been the method Google has used for the past several years as there are always far more developers interested in attending than there is space for them to attend. To attempt to make it fair, you sign up starting the 22nd and if you are selected, you complete your registration. That is, you pay for your ticket.

In an unannounced updated, Google and Netflix have been partnering to give Voice Match support to the streaming service when using Google Assistant.  With Voice Match you can now have your Netflix profile linked to your voice for your personalized content on the service when you invoke it from Assistant.

Voice Match is aimed at personalizing information for you when you interact with Google Assistant.  For example, if I speak to Assistant through my Google Home, I will get my personal information (like my calendar) while if my wife speaks to it, she gets her personalized information.  Think of this addition to Netflix as an extension of that same service.