DigitalAssistant
Latest
Starbucks' iPhone app lets you order by talking to it
Starbucks is continuing its efforts to stay on top of technological trends by adding new voice-ordering functions to its iOS app and Amazon's Alexa digital assistant. Called "My Starbucks barista" on iOS, the service is being rolled out to select customers today as an extension of the company's Mobile Order and Pay feature, which lets users send and pay for an order ahead of time. At the same time, the company is launching a Starbucks Reorder Skill to the Alexa platform.
Nokia's voice assistant is for engineers, not ordering Ubers
Amazon, Microsoft, Google and Apple are all developing their voice assistants to be the perfect companions for our busy lives, helping us control our smart homes, buy things, summon Ubers, play funky music and find out what show that guy from that film is in. Nokia's newly announced voice assistant, on the other hand, is strictly business -- we're talking the Nokia that specializes in network technologies here, not the Nokia brand of devices licensee HMD Global puts out. The Multi-purpose Intuitive Knowledge Assistant, or MIKA for short, is a voice assistant built specifically for telecoms engineers, quickly surfacing the information they need to fix network faults and such.
Google opens up its Assistant actions to developers
When Google first unveiled its Assistant earlier this year, the service seemed to have quite a lot of potential. Unfortunately, in our testing of the company's new Home speaker and Pixel smartphones, we found the digital helper rather limited. Now that Google has opened up Assistant's developer platform, though, the service could finally become as powerful as promised.
With Assistant, Google is becoming a lot more like Apple
Google may have finally taken control of its hardware with the new Pixel phones, but the company's still focusing on software. In particular: artificial intelligence. The AI-powered Assistant is an integral part of its new phones, Allo messaging app and smart speaker, making for a more uniform and useful experience across all of Google's (and other brands') devices. If that sounds familiar, it's because Apple brought Siri to multiple platforms first.
Google brings 'intelligent search' to business users
Google's new Springboard search may be aimed at companies, but it's just the kind of AI-powered tech that can trickle down to consumers. The search giant describes it as a sort of digital assistant that helps employees search through piles of documents in Gmail, Calendar, Docs, Drive, Contacts and other apps. Much like Google Now, it also "assists you throughout your workday by proactively providing useful and actionable information and recommendations," according to the company.
The people who made Siri are readying another big leap in AI
It's been a couple of years since we heard from Viv Labs, but a report from the Washington Post says it will debut the next generation of AI assistance on Monday. One reason we won't dismiss that possibility is because of the last project developed by company co-founders Dag Kittlaus, Adam Cheyer and Chris Brigham -- a little feature called Siri. According to the Post, as much of a third of the team behind Siri is now at Viv, ready to fulfill a bigger dream of what the personal assistant can do than what we've seen so far in its Apple iteration.
Hound's voice-recognition technology books an Uber for you
Virtual assistants are getting better at their jobs. With Siri, Cortana or Google Now on your smartphone, it's not hard to pin down the closest artisanal coffee shop, set up a reminder to water your plants or calculate the quickest commute. But in this race for personal assistance, the service that requires the fewest steps can be expected to win. Hound, the latest natural language voice-recognition entrant, comes with the promise of a hands-free experience.
Apple TV's Siri will help you binge-watch in only eight countries
Apple TV's new Siri-enabled remote, with a touchpad and mic, has finally brought the media player up to speed with its competitors like Roku and Amazon. In addition to a snappy universal search, the digital assistant can now pick shows by cameos, movies by actors and genres by age. The demo onstage -- with Siri pulling up the weather and a sport scorecard while automatically pausing the movie in the background -- seemed to give the company's TV box a much-needed edge. But according to their developer guide, the voice-controlled TV watching pleasure will be limited to only eight countries at the time of launch end of next month.
Leak: future iOS update to introduce Siri-based voice control
When Apple snatched up Siri back in April, we had to wonder exactly what Cupertino was planning for the voice controlled virtual assistant. The answer, according to a new leak, is unsurprisingly obvious: iOS integration. A screenshot leaked to 9to5Mac flaunts an "Assistant" feature presumably built into a firmware update. To back up the screenshot, the aforesaid site dove into the iOS SDK and uncovered code describing Siri-like use of the iPhone's location, contact list, and song metadata. The code also outlined a "speaker" feature, opening a door for further Nuance integration in Apple products. Sound awesome? Sure it does, but keep it salty: 9to5's source says the assistant feature only just went into testing, and may not be ready in time for Apple's next big handset upgrade. Hit the source link to see the code and conjecture for yourself.
DARPA-based Siri virtual assistant hits the App Store, smartphone sentience can't be far behind (video)
It's been well over six months since we first got wind of Siri, the DARPA-inspired smartphone app that pledged to take all the hassle out of... well... life. It's a virtual assistant that can take care of menial tasks, things like finding restaurants, hearing reviews, and even booking tables -- all with your voice. Siri asks simple questions and reacts to your answers, and while it sadly seems to have lost some of its military feel since its DARPA days (bummer), it's a lovely companion to your happening lifestyle. Plus it's free, and free is good! Check out a demonstration video after the break, and hit up the App Store to make with the download. Meanwhile, if you're on some other smartphone platform you'll have to wait. We fully expect Siri will break free of its current monotasking abode sometime in the future, but we don't know when. We just don't know when. %Gallery-84723%
Microsoft's Laura will rule your Outlook calendar, nightmares
Back in Office 97, Microsoft wowed us with Clippy, the talking paperclip that made Word tasks far more annoying than necessary. By Office 2007 he was finally out of a job, but his spirit lives on in Laura, an oddly creepy virtual digital assistant shown off as part of Microsoft's vision for the future (video of an earlier demo is below). She's said to be able to schedule reservations, make appointments, and maybe even get you tickets for the first Watchmen showing tonight -- much the same as the company's EVA assistant, but not in a car and not as hot. She can judge you based on what type of clothing you're wearing and even tell if you're engaged in a conversation, perhaps keeping the doors on an elevator open while you chat with someone getting off, thus further annoying every other person on board. Can she write really stellar blog posts, though? We think not.
