Digital assistants are getting smarter all the time. Their conversational tones are also starting to sound ever more like actual human speech. A remaining issue is the robotic-sounding nature of digital assistants, which Google is trying to fix for Assistant.
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Google Assistant is arguably already the most naturally sounding digital assistant, with the likes of Apple Siri and Amazon Alexa lagging behind and Samsung Bixby starting to die a quiet death. Google has made more English-speaking voices available to developers which they can use in their existing Actions. Here is an example of one of the voices:
Google has also added the ability to Assistant to pen and search through some of the most popular apps available for Android phones. This means Google Assistant can not only open an app, developers can build voice control into some of its normal features in apps. For example, you can conduct a search in LinkedIn or order food from your favourite restaurant on a delivery app.
Starting in 2021, users will also be able to verify a credit card’s CVC on their smart display for purchases. It forms part of Google’s strategy to make smart displays a better place to shop. It will work the same way it already does in Chrome, where a pop-up asks you to verify the number before filling out a payment form with your payment information.
Talking about the new voices available for Assistant, Google said that “We’ve heard your feedback that you need better voices to match the quality of the experiences you’re delivering on the Assistant. We’ve released two new English voices that take advantage of an improved prosody model to make Assistant sound more natural.”
How much do you use your digital assistant? Does it add a lot to your mobile experience? Let us know in the comments below.
