Google Assistant has new privacy and usage features such as read aloud that works in 42 languages, removal of previous voice commands etc. The company tells that it is available in more than 90 countries and reaching more than 500 million people every month.
The first of the news announced is intended to help configure new devices connected to the smart home. Google indicates that, from now on, when a user sets up a smart device using the app provided by the manufacturer, a notification will allow the device to be connected to Google Assistant in a simpler and faster way.
The new features also include the “Scheduled Actions” function that will be available at the end of 2020, which will allow you to turn on, off, start or stop a smart device automatically at a certain time. As an example, Google sets out the command “OK Google, turn on the coffee maker at six in the morning.”
Google also promises to improve the integration of the Assistant for family usage. To do this, a kind of collaborative digital “post-it” is introduced, which can be accessed by different members of a family through the Google Assistant version for smart screens. In that sense, a speed dial feature will also be included to quickly call family members.
The voice engine that brings Google Assistant to life will also level up. A new function of natural reading of long texts will facilitate the listening of web pages and articles, based on new data sets that generate more natural and expressive voices. It can also read aloud texts in 42 languages.
For privacy, Google announced that voice commands have been introduced focused on this, such as “OK Google, that was not for you”. Google also told that the Assistant is already present in more than one billion devices in worldwide, and that will continue to expand its availability this year through new devices of all kinds.
