Google Assistant news and trends

Google to Launch Generative AI-Powered Digital Assistant
artificial intelligence // October 04, 2023

Google has unveiled a digital assistant powered by generative artificial intelligence (AI). Assistant with Bard will be accessible on Android and iOS mobile devices in the coming months, the tech giant said in a Wednesday (Oct. 4) blog post. This new tool will build upon...

Microsoft Continues Shutting Down Cortana
Connected Economy // August 11, 2023

Microsoft is shutting down its digital assistant app, Cortana, for Windows 11 with an update that disables it. This move comes three years after the tech giant ended Cortana for iOS and Android devices, The Verge reported Friday (Aug. 11). Microsoft also plans to end support for the digital...

Google Wants to Employ AI for ‘Supercharged’ Smart Assistant
artificial intelligence // August 02, 2023

Google’s Assistant is getting an AI-powered upgrade that will cost some workers their jobs. That’s according to a report Tuesday (Aug. 1) by CNBC, citing an internal email to employees from Peeyush Ranjan, Google’s vice president of engineering at Assistant. In that message, Rajan said the latest reshuffle will...

Restaurants Use Voice to Drive New Customer Experiences
ResTech // April 03, 2023

As more consumers use voice assistants, restaurants are driving loyalty with frictionless ordering. The Context For restaurants, any ordering and payment channel that removes friction from the experience can be key to increasing sales and customer loyalty. As such, voice transactions, where consumers can place...

Interviews & Exclusives
Is Voice The Ultimate Touchless Payments Experience?

July 20, 2020
Voice technology was already on the rise long before the global pandemic broke out, with a steadily increasing share of consumers using voice assistants like Siri or Alexa to shop, listen to music, find recipes and more. But then COVID-19 hit, and like so many things connected to digital commerce, voice technology got a massive […]

NEW DATA: What’s Driving $230B In Commuter Commerce?

January 07, 2019
What makes the daily drive miserable for millions of commuters? Yes, there’s the traffic snarls, obnoxious motorists and boredom. However, for a significant share of commuters who drive their own...

SoundHound GM: The Future Of Voice May Not Go By ‘Google’ Or ‘Alexa’

May 11, 2018
Twenty years ago, if the radio played a song you liked, you had to put your ear to the speaker and hope the DJ said the title and artist so...

The Pixel 2, The Mini-Home And The AI Tie That Binds

October 05, 2017
Promoting product releases has become something of an art form in Silicon Valley. There is the day itself, of course, but also the lead-up to it and getting people’s interest piqued enough...

Quick Reads
Google to Launch Generative AI-Powered Digital Assistant

October 04, 2023
Google has unveiled a digital assistant powered by generative artificial intelligence (AI). Assistant with Bard will be accessible on Android and iOS mobile devices in the coming months, the tech giant said in a Wednesday (Oct. 4) blog post. This new tool will build upon the capabilities of Google Assistant, adding the generative AI of Bard, according […]

Microsoft Continues Shutting Down Cortana

August 11, 2023
Microsoft is shutting down its digital assistant app, Cortana, for Windows 11 with an update that disables it. This move comes three years after the tech giant ended Cortana for iOS...

Google Wants to Employ AI for ‘Supercharged’ Smart Assistant

August 02, 2023
Google’s Assistant is getting an AI-powered upgrade that will cost some workers their jobs. That’s according to a report Tuesday (Aug. 1) by CNBC, citing an internal email to employees from Peeyush Ranjan, Google’s...

Google Assistant Could Soon Control Doorbells, Clothes Stylers

June 07, 2020
On Friday night (June 5) Google Assistant, the artificial intelligence–powered virtual assistant for mobile and smart home devices, was updated to include doorbell and clothes styler devices, which will soon...