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Google demonstrated what it calls the “next generation Assistant” at this year’s Google I/O event.
This is Google Assistant as it is already known but one which is far more intuitive and able to do more. Specifically, do more much faster and with the user saying less.
Contextual conversations is key here and this is what Google was most keen to demonstrate with the company showing how a user could easily do more tasks quicker than ever before by using voice command alone, and even jumping between tasks at great speed.
Basically, users can run off various commands and based on the scripted demonstration, Assistant can not only keep up, but complete the actions while keeping up.
For example, the demonstration showed the user very quickly switching between checking the weather, ordering a Lyft and taking a selfie. Although that’s not necessarily the way most people will make use of the increased speed, it does highlight the vast app support and the speed that will be on offer compared to the current version of the Assistant.
It would seem one of the more useful and also ironic changes is the new less-emphasis on the user actually saying “Hey Google” or “OK Google.”
Up until now this has been one of the hallmarks and even marketing efforts used by Google to promote its voice assistant solution. However, it now seems as though Google is looking to lessen the dependency on the hotword and presumably as a means to help make the actual service far more efficient and useful.
Of course, you’ll still need to issue the keyword for the Assistant to understand you are talking to it in the first place, so this is more relevant to the continued use of Assistant in one session. This is basically an extension to the “Continued Conversation” feature previously announced by Google.
This is currently just a demonstration of the newer Assistant and so users will have to wait before they are able to take advantage of the new speed and features.
Google did not specify exactly when the next-gen Assistant will become available, but did take a moment to make it clear that it will be coming to the Google Pixel phone line later in the year.
With Google expected to host its hardware event once again in October, it could be the case this is when the new support goes live. After all, this is likely when Google will debut its latest Pixel phone, the Google Pixel 4, and so it makes sense for that phone to launch with the new features in tow. This will then likely be followed by a rollout of support to existing Pixel phones in the days and weeks afterwards.
This is only one of the many Assistant-related announcements that were made during the event with Google confirming the Assistant is becoming much smarter in general.
Possibly, more importantly, this applies to the Assistant on just about every platform it is now accessible through.
You can see an example of the new and faster Google Assistant in the video below.