duplex
Latest
Google's health updates include an easier way to see if a clinic offers free or low-cost care
Google says it will note whether community health centers have free or low-cost care options in Search results.
Google is shutting down Duplex on the Web
After three years, Google is shutting down Duplex on the Web, its technology for making Assistant better at parsing websites.
Google Assistant can now automatically change passwords
Google Assistant can now automatically change passwords compromised in data breaches.
Google Assistant can fill out your payment info for your next takeout order
Google's Assistant updates for Spring 2021 revolve around simplifying the restaurant checkout process and making it easier to automate your smart home.
Google Search will help you identify that song stuck in your head
Over a billion people every day use Google Search, the company said. Today, the company announced a set of updates that can make Search easier to use, and the most notable of these is a new “Hum to Search” feature that’s avalable today.
Google's Duplex AI can book your haircut appointments
Google's Duplex AI has quietly added the ability to book haircut appointments, two years after the feature made its debut.
Google's 'Hold for Me' Assistant feature appears first on new Pixel phones
Google's new Assistant feature will roll out first on the new Pixel phones, and it listens to the hold music while you do something else, then alerts you once a real human being picks up.
Google expands its conversational Duplex AI to the UK, Australia and Canada
Google’s high-tech Duplex AI calling service has quietly made its way to the UK, Australia and Canada. With Duplex, you can ask Google Assistant to call, say, restaurants or car rentals for you, so you can make a table reservation or book a vehicle. VentureBeat has spotted a change on a Help Center page that shows the phone numbers Google will use to call business owners per country.
Google Assistant uses ‘Duplex on the Web’ to buy your movie tickets
Since last year, you've been able to purchase movie tickets using your voice with Google Assistant and Fandango. Today, Google is enhancing that capability to make it more versatile.
Here's everything Google announced at the Pixel 4 event
Despite all of the leaks ahead of Google's Pixel 4 hardware event today, the company still had plenty to share. Of course, we got our first official look at the Pixelbook Go and Pixel 4/4XL, but we also got to see the new Nest Mini, Nest WiFi and Pixel Buds. And Google had plenty of new features -- like ultrasound sensing and an improved Recorder app -- to wow the crowd.
Google Assistant has a new look on the Pixel 4
Google has given Assistant an overhaul, giving it a fresh look for Pixel 4 and making the voice assistant more useful, with a better understanding of context for the information or actions you ask it about. At the Made by Google event, the company showcased some of what the new Assistant has in store, including a zippy flow from Maggie Rogers' Twitter account to her upcoming shows, sharing that info with a friend and looking for tickets using the Continued Conversation feature.
Recommended Reading: Undercover moms battle autism 'cure' on Facebook
Parents are poisoning their children with bleach to 'cure' autism. These moms are trying to stop it. Brandy Zadrozny, NBC News Don't believe everything you read on the internet, especially in 2019. An autism "cure" is currently making the rounds in Facebook groups that advises parents to give children bleach to remedy the condition. This is completely untrue -- there is no cure for autism -- and some moms are going undercover to fight back.
Many Google Duplex calls are from real people instead of AI
Google's Duplex reservations might be more widely available, but that doesn't mean the AI is ready to handle every call. The company has confirmed to the New York Times that about 25 percent of the Assistant-based calls start with a human in a call center, while 15 percent require human intervention. In the newspaper's tests, the ratio was higher -- real people completed three out of four of their successful bookings.
Recommended Reading: Google Duplex still confuses restaurants
One year later, restaurants are still confused by Google Duplex Natt Garun, The Verge Google had us in awe when it debuted the AI-powered Duplex tech at I/O 2018. The system can be used to make reservations on your behalf, and it can even make a call if one is required. A year later though, it seems restaurants are still confused by the technology. From calls that look like spam to using different voices and accents in immediate follow-ups to confirm reservations, Duplex still has its quirks. But there's also an interesting wrinkle: it can be more polite than a human.
Google I/O 2019 by the numbers
In addition to its new Pixel 3 and Nest Hub Max, Google revealed a host of recent advancements in the field of Artificial Intelligence. The Assistant is getting a significant speed boost -- not just because you no longer have to say "Hey Google" -- thanks to onboard algorithmic models, Duplex is coming to Chrome, search will soon have AR capabilities, and the upcoming Android Q will host even more smart features. Here are the highlights of Google I/O 2019:
Google turns Duplex into fancy autofill for Chrome
Duplex, Google's AI reservation feature, already knows how to dial a phone. Starting later this year, it will also be able to rent you a car or buy you some movie tickets online.
Google's CallJoy is an AI phone operator for small businesses
Around a year ago, Google unveiled Duplex, an AI-powered feature that can call businesses and book appointments for you. Ahead of this year's I/O, Google revealed the other half of the equation, a virtual customer service agent that can automatically handle inbound calls for small businesses.
Google's Duplex AI can make reservations on non-Pixel devices
You no longer need to carry a Pixel phone to have Google's Duplex book reservations on your behalf. Google has quietly expanded support for Duplex to other Android devices (5.0 Lollipop and newer) and iPhones using Assistant. While it's not certain just which hardware will work at this stage, there are reports at XDA and 9to5Google that Duplex is working on the Galaxy S10 and iPhone.
After Math: It's the circle of tech
While most of us now need Buzzfeed quizzes about "things only '90s kids would recognize" to remember what a Blockbuster is, the franchise's inevitable demise is still something to be commemorated -- if only by finally returning that VHS copy of Batman Forever you've been holding onto. But even as some companies fade into oblivion, others flourish in the market spaces left over. Here are a few from this week.
Google's Duplex AI now makes reservations in 43 states
You can ask Google Assistant to make a restaurant reservation over the phone for you in 43 states as of today, as Google is bringing its Duplex automated voice-calling tech to more Pixel phones. It was previously available to a small number of Pixel owners in a few cities.
