A Smarter Google Assistant is Coming Your Way

By Google Inc. (assistant.google.com) [Public domain],
via Wikimedia Commons

Google announced Friday that it is expanding Google Assistant's features as well as its reach. In line with its roadmap, Google is bringing the Google Assistant experience to more people by integrating it into the mobile ecosystem and making it a device that will make an impact on users' day-to-day activities.

Over at the Mobile World Congress, Google is going to showcase how they are exactly working it out with mobile carriers and device makers to take the ecosystem approach to come up with great products that will bring the Google Assistant to more people around the world. The following is a sneak peak of what's coming.

From eight languages, Google Assistant will be available in more than 30 languages by the end of the year, and therefore will be available in more locations. In a few months, it will be available already in Danish, Dutch, Hindi, Indonesian, Norwegian, Swedish and Thai on Android phones and iPhones. More languages and more devices will be added throughout the year. This year, the Assistant will become multilingual so families and individuals who speak multilingual languages can speak naturally with the Assistant. Google said that it would be able to adjust to different languages you speak at home and work. Multilingual will initially be available in English, French and German.

There are ongoing collaborations that will allow device makers (OEMs) to build deeper integrations that will develop device-specific commands to make the Assistant accessible even if the screen is off using hardware-based AI chips.

The Assistant will also be instrumental in a new way by which mobile carriers can provide better mobile experience to people within their networks and services. Soon, the Google assistant will be able to answer queries about their plan, international data roaming and customer support. This feature will greatly offload mobile providers and reduce response time on customer queries and service requests. Sprint, Koodo, Telus and Vodafone are currently developing integrations with the Assistant, with more carriers adding up on the line.

Soon, Google Assistant will provide a seamless experience working across multiple devices in your life. Google said, Routines, which was announced last year would help you get things done using a single command. Soon in the US, users will be able to complete a few tasks using a single command. Currently, you can set location-based reminders for specific locations. The feature will soon be available on your speaker. For example, you will be able to set a reminder to buy specific grocery item(s), and Google assistant will remind you of it when you arrive the store.