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Alexa orders delivery from Pizza Hut on Amazon devices
Pizza Hut recently debuted a chatbot to help you with a delivery order, but the restaurant chain is putting Amazon's virtual assistant to work for the same task. Alexa's newest skill includes the ability to order your pizza via voice integration on the Echo, Echo Dot, Fire TV and Fire tablets. While the menu options for placing an order from scratch are a bit limited, Alexa can access your favorite items and past orders as well.
Personal assistants are ushering in the age of AI at home
Google Home is the latest embodiment of a virtual assistant. The voice-activated speaker can help you make a dinner reservation, remind you to catch your flight, fire up your favorite playlist and even translate words for you on the fly. While the voice interface is expected to make quotidian tasks easier, it also gives the company unprecedented access to human patterns and preferences that are crucial to the next phase of artificial intelligence. Comparing an AI agent to a personal assistant, as most companies have been doing of late, makes for a powerful metaphor. It is one that is indicative of the human capabilities that most major technology companies want their disembodied helpers to adopt. Over the last couple of years, with improvements in speech-recognition technology, Siri, Cortana and Google Now have slowly learned to move beyond the basics of weather updates to take on more complex responsibilities like managing your calendar or answering your queries. But products that invade our personal spaces -- like Amazon's Echo and Google Home -- point to a larger shift in human-device interaction that is currently underway.
Lenovo's Cortana-powered file finder app is finally out
Lenovo announced that Cortana would come to its devices way back in May last year, and now the ReachIt app is finally making its way out of beta and into your life. It's like that Billy Ocean song. Almost. Except that this is an application that'll give Microsoft's virtual assistant deeper access to your files so you can ask for them in natural language -- not a pop song about someone's dream-lady getting in their car. The app is a free download on the Windows Store and it should definitely help you find Tear Down These Walls in your MP3 folder. All you'll have to do is ask, "Cortana, where's the Billy Ocean album I downloaded last week at Starbucks?"
Take Amazon's Alexa for a spin in your browser
Alexa's gradual procession toward ubiquity is proof that the Echo speaker isn't the heart of Amazon's voice assistant, it's the server farms that run it. Now you can tap into Alexa with the device sitting on your desk or lap thanks to Echosim.io, a website that replicates the experience of talking to Jeff Bezos' smart speakers. Sign in with your Amazon info, give the website permission to access your microphone and you're good to go.
Google Home will take on Echo to be your at-home assistant
While the New York Times may have broken the news early, Google's answer to Amazon's smart speakers is now official. Announced today at the search giant's annual I/O developer conference, Google Home is the company's answer to the Amazon Echo, whose voice-controlled "Alexa" assistant can help with various tasks. Google Home has a virtual assistant too, with software that can handle household tasks like adjusting your Nest thermostat. It also allows you to control third-party apps using your voice.
Amazon gives Alexa more control of your Fire TV
Amazon's virtual assistant was already hard at work helping with tasks via its Echo speakers and Fire TV, but now Alexa is getting more control of your television. The online retailer announced today that Alexa can handle more requests on its streaming gadgets, including launching apps, playing selections from Amazon video and add-on subscriptions (HBO Go, Starz, Showtime, SeeSo) and browsing local movie times. Fire TV already offered voice search and Alexa has been available on those devices as well, but this update expands the virtual assistant's workload.
Cortana will soon make suggestions throughout your day
Cortana has come a long way since debuting nearly two years ago. As time goes by, Microsoft's virtual assistant keeps getting smarter, with features like helping you scan emails to keep track of deadlines. It's also expanded its reach to Android and iOS, the two most popular mobile platforms. Now, as part of the upcoming Windows 10 "Anniversary Update," Cortana will start making proactive suggestions throughout the day.
Privacy concerns kept Nest from making an Echo-like assistant (updated)
With the announcement of two new Echo speakers, Amazon also revealed that those voice-controlled devices (and the Fire TV) now play nice with Nest thermostats. According to Recode, the Google-owned connected home company thought about making an Echo-like of its own, but scrapped the idea due to concerns over privacy. Nest thought that consumers wouldn't think too highly of a device with a virtual assistant that was tied directly to Google. Of course, there's no telling how far along those plans were. What's more, the company's CEO Tony Fadell addressed privacy concerns when Mountain View bought Nest, explaining that the smart home outfit would remain a separate entity.
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.
Microsoft's Cortana iPhone app rolls out to beta testers
Less than a month after kicking off the Cortana for iPhone beta signups, Microsoft has started rolling out the app to people who showed interest in testing it. As TechCrunch points out, the early build is being distributed through TestFlight, a developer-focused service that lets iOS users try applications before their public release. Based on the app's current description, Microsoft is asking testers to set a Cortana reminder on a Windows 10 PC and see how it works with an iPhone, as well as communicate with the virtual assistant and observe how she responds to queries. Back in August, Cortana also arrived on Android via public beta, so it's only a matter of time before Microsoft officially releases it on Google and Apple's mobile platforms.
Cortana won't help you on Xbox One until next year
If you were hoping to experience Cortana's most helpful version on your Xbox One this year, you might have to settle for her possible appearance in Halo 5 at the end of the month instead. The virtual assistant won't make her full debut to owners of Microsoft's latest console until early next year. Don't fret though: Redmond spokesperson Larry "Major Nelson" Hryb says that the voice from Master Chief's ear will be available to folks in the Xbox One's Dashboard Preview Program later this fall. There's a joke to be made about rampancy in this news -- I'm almost sure of it. Oh, and speaking of Halo 5, there's a new live-action trailer out today (embedded after the break) that nurtures the seeds of doubt in Spartan 117 that Microsoft's been sowing since the first teaser hit.
Cortana officially arrives on Android via public beta
Following a leak last month, Microsoft's virtual assistant officially arrived on Android. Thanks to a public beta, Redmond keeps its promise to bring Cortana to the Google faithful. As we've already seen, you can use Cortana to help with things like answering random questions, setting reminders, tracking flights and a number of other tasks. What you still can't do, however, is use the "Hey Cortana" voice command to alert the virtual assistant to your needs. That remains a Windows-only feature for now, though Microsoft says it'll be "continually improving the experience." Perhaps that tool will arrive later, but for now, head to Google Play to nab the software in its current form.
Facebook testing its own virtual assistant, 'Moneypenny'
It sounds like Siri, Cortana and the entity known only as Google Now could get some competition. Facebook is launching a virtual assistant of its own, according to The Information, and James Bond fans might smile when they hear what Zuckerberg and Co. are calling it. Moneypenny is a feature that lives within the social network's Messenger app and it'll apparently let you ask real people for help with stuff. Exactly what? The Information's sources say research and shopping. And that's about it. A release date wasn't given and details are otherwise pretty non-existent. Perhaps the function being a part of Messenger will help it avoid a fate similar to the Home or Poke apps.
Siri co-creator is working on a virtual assistant capable of anything
There's no question that Apple's virtual assistant comes in handy when you need information quickly. And now, one of Siri's creators is working on a more advanced form of AI that goes far beyond the current iPhone option. Viv Labs says its personal assistant will possess a limitless tool set because the software can teach itself. This means that in addition to the regular ol' search, the artificial intelligence will also be able to perform tasks like booking reservations based on openings in your schedule and more. "Siri is chapter one of a much longer, bigger story," Dag Kittlaus, Viv's co-founder who also worked on Apple's assistant, tells Wired. Bypassing the need for coders (and constraints), Viv generates its own program to answer queries and complete tasks in seconds. Once the system is "trained" to understand the vocabulary of a subject, the company aims to sort through loads of data to not only lend a hand, but anticipate what we'll need next. [Photo credit: Ian Waldie/Bloomberg via Getty Images]
BlackBerry announces virtual assistant to take on Siri and Cortana
Apple has Siri, Microsoft has Cortana, Google's got Now voice search and BlackBerry... doesn't have a virtual assistant of any kind. This morning, however, the Canadian smartphone maker confirmed that it has one in the works and will be showing up on the company's next major release. Known aptly as BlackBerry Assistant, the new program is a part of OS 10.3 and will be available on the upcoming Passport phone. Assistant is voice-activated and comes with quite a few of the standard features we've come to expect on the other mobile platforms, such as the ability to open apps, send messages and tweets, set reminders and change settings. It also is smart enough to learn and adapt to your needs, so it theoretically should become more useful over time as it gets to know you. BlackBerry isn't revealing all that Assistant can do yet, and it hasn't offered a firm timeframe for availability aside from the fact that it'll be part of the Passport, but so far we haven't seen much to set it apart from the competition. It's at least a good sign that the company is trying remain competitive, however.
Banking apps may be getting their own virtual assistants soon
The minds behind Siri's virtual assistant skills are back at it. This time around, SRI International has created Kasisto to boost personalized interactivity inside apps that usually require an actual human to carry out complex activities. Banking and commerce are a prime examples of this sort of task load, and BBVA (the outfit that now owns Simple) has already partnered up. The context-aware tech offers text, touch, and speech with natural language understanding and reasoning built-in, giving interested suitors the ability to pipe in a virtual assistant in a fraction of the time it would take to start from scratch. Plus, they'd be leveraging a tools from the folks who developed Apple's helpful voice. "Our innovative approach to intelligent system design, combined with low-cost deployment, will help banks improve customer service and maximize investment in the mobile channel," notes Kasisto's CEO and co-founder Zor Gorelov. Since the platform was just announced, there's no indication as to when that virtual helping hand will appear in everyday financial apps just yet.
Smartphones for hire: Which personal assistant is right for you?
"Ring-ding-ding-ding-dingeringeding." This isn't a standard job interview answer, but then again, "What does the fox say?" isn't a typical question, either. The top three smartphone platforms now feature fully functional personal assistants, and just like real-life assistants, it's not so easy to pick one at random. Each has its own talents, weaknesses and personality quirks to consider. So, I conducted a series of "interviews" with Siri, Google Now and Cortana to get to know them better -- and yes, they all know exactly what the fox says.
Here's how to chat with Windows Phone's new assistant outside of the US
Don't despair that Windows Phone 8.1's signature virtual assistant, Cortana, doesn't officially work outside of the US -- as it turns out, there's a fairly easy way to try it in other countries. Pocket-lint notes that early adopters can chat with Cortana by choosing US language, region and speech in their phone settings. Provided you can live with American spelling across the interface, everything works as expected -- you can find local shops, call friends and set reminders using only your voice. You'll still have to wait until later in the year to get a truly localized version of Microsoft's digital companion, but you can at least see what all the fuss is about right now.
Having a chat with Cortana, Windows Phone's new personal assistant
Anyone who's played Halo, the iconic first-person shooter based 500 years in the future, knows where Microsoft came up with the name of Cortana, its new voice recognition program on Windows Phone 8.1. Master Chief might be the star of the video game series, but Cortana is the heroic digital sidekick that saves his behind in almost every level. Granted, the Windows Phone version may not help you explore an alien planet or teach you how to defeat the bad guys, but it's still capable of some great stuff. Just press the search button on the bottom of every Windows Phone device (as long as it uses 8.1, of course) and Cortana pops up, ready to listen and obey your commands. What kinds of things can she do? You can tell her to call someone, send a text, set reminders, take notes and hook you up with all sorts of information that you might need throughout the course of any given day. And since it's powered by Bing, the engine working behind the scenes has a solid amount of oomph.
Nuance Wintermute hands-on: a cross-platform, cloud-based personal assistant
It's becoming increasingly clear that the next wave of mobile computing is going to be voice driven. Mobile assistants like Siri and Google Now are garnering plenty of media attention and earning legions of fans. Nuance, the company behind Dragon -- often cited as the gold standard in voice recognition software -- wants to make sure it doesn't get left behind after pioneering the art of speaking to your computer. Dragon Mobile Assistant was the first step towards that goal, but it stuck primarily to searches and a few simple tasks. After leaving our stage here at CES, the company was nice enough to take us back to a suite where it demoed a project codenamed Wintermute. Besides throwing a bone to William Gibson fans, the project aims to make Nuance's personal assistant truly personal and platform agnostic by building a profile of individual users in the cloud. While clearly very much in the early stages, what we saw was none the less impressive. The mobile app, was able to easily recognize queries such as "what is the score of the Celtics game" and obey commands like "play music by the Rolling Stones." Nuance even threw in a bit of snide, Siri-like personality -- the assistant quipped about the rep being too young to listen to the Stones. That response was obviously triggered by the fact that the app knew Sean Brown, a senior manager at the company, was born well after the band's hey day.
