Googles new Google Assistant appeared in every part of the companyshardware event yesterday.
Google was less clear about how Assistant differs fromGoogle Now, orNow On Tap, orGoogles voice commands.
Right now, the only way to try out Assistant is asa chatbot in Google Allo.
Google also announced some features that wont arrive until devices likeGoogle Homeor thePixel phonearrive.
Not every feature is available on every unit, but theres a lot of promising stuff on the way.
However, Google Assistant brings the Chromecast, andany other Google Cast-enabled devices, into the fold.
With Assistant, youll be able to say Play Luke Cage, for example.
Its unclear just yet how this will work if you have multiple Google Cast devices.
Those are just the partners that Google announced at launch, but presumably more will follow.
To demonstrate this, I tried out one of Googles favorite examples that Ineveractually use: finding movie showtimes.
Googles useless to me here.
However, if Im curious whats out, I can ask Assistant Whats playing?
In Allo, this shows me a list of movies playing in my area.The Magnificent Sevenlooks okay.
I tap it to get some information and reviews.
Except it only shows me the theaters closest to me.
I prefer another AMC thats about halfway between me and my friends.
So I ask again, Showtimes at Parkway Pointe.
Want a daily update with all the presidential news?
Need to know the current exchange rate between US dollars and British pounds every morning?
Google Assistant can totally do that.
When I say anything I really meananything.
In Google Allo, I asked Assistant How tall is Jeff Goldblum?
To which it naturally replied Six feet four inches.
I then set up a subscription for that request to occur every morning at 7AM.
Presumably, this implies Google will let you set a subscription for nearly anything.
Well see just how complex those scheduled commands can be when Assistant breaks out of Allo later this year.
Google cant even transcribe your commands, much less find out how tall Jeff Goldblum is.
Simply throw in your command and the next time you have a connection, youll get your answer.
Google Assistant Will Support Third Party Services
Google Search has a strange relationship with third-parties.
That will change in December when Google launches itsActions on Googleplatform.
This platform will let third-parties add voice actions to Google Assistant.
These can either be direct actions which are simple requests like How tall is Jeff Goldblum?
or complex, conversational ones.
Google demonstrated this yesterday by showing how hailing an Uber would work.
Google will wait while you figure it out.
No more trying to memorize a long, complicated voice command to get it in one go.
One of Assistants accidental best features is that the Google Now name is essentially dead.
Assistant makes much more sense as an umbrella term for the companys smart features.
