Google Assistant

2022: Adding Google Duplex

In the version of Google Chrome on Android, a feature appeared that allows the system to automatically change hacked passwords from accounts. This became known on May 5, 2022.

The Google Duplex feature has become an addition to the Google Assistant voice assistant. It checks passwords in the browser against leak data. If a match is detected, the system prompts users to change their password to restore security.

Since the password change is performed automatically, the user only has to confirm the replacement process. The algorithm generates its own secure combination. The account holder can make edits to the proposed password or enter his own combination of^[1].

2021

Recording Conversations Without User Knowledge

July 1, 2021 it became known that Google Assistant records conversations without the knowledge of users.

Google representatives admitted to the government commission in India that company employees listen to recordings of conversations between users and Google Assistant voice assistant. Moreover, artificial intelligence can sometimes record users' voices without their knowledge.

We take a number of precautions to protect data during the human record verification process. Sound fragments are never associated with any user accounts, and language experts listen to only a small set of records (about 0.2% of all user audio fragments), the company explained.

As it turned out, to begin recording a conversation, the virtual assistant does not always need a special command "Okay, Google!" Or a similar phrase. Google's privacy policy also states that "sometimes the Assistant is activated without user intervention due to a misunderstanding of the voice command (for example, by a sound that sounds like" Hello, Google ").

In its testimony before the parliamentary commission, the Google team said that confidential information is not listened to in audio recordings. According to representatives, only general conversations are recorded and listened to. It remains unknown how technogiant employees share confidential and unclassified information^[2].

Clone for Windows, Linux and macOS

Virtual Assistant Google (Russia in known as the "Google Assistant") earned on, and operating systems Windows Linux even. macOS This became known on February 12, 2021. This is an unofficial port of the service - Google itself voice has not implemented support for these platforms in it for the entire existence of its branded assistant (since May 2016).

All the work for Google specialists, writes the Android Police portal, was done by third-party developer Melvin L. Abraham - he posted all the necessary information to launch the "Assistant" under Windows, macOS and Linux in his profile on GitHub. According to Abraham, the application he created is built on the Electron framework. About

Abraham distributes his creation on a completely free basis, and potentially every owner of a PC or laptop running the specified OS can evaluate the application in action. In fact, everything is not so simple, because the client is unofficial, and many additional actions will have to be taken to launch it - for this Abraham even prepared an instruction consisting of 30 points.

Among other things, the user will be required to register with the Google Cloud cloud service, which is itself paid, although it has a free basic tariff. It is quite suitable for the implementation of the plan. According to Android Police, launching a Google voice assistant on a PC using the Melvin Abraham method is a rather difficult process, but you don't have to be a programmer for this - there is enough baggage of knowledge of an ordinary PC user.

Melvin Abraham managed to create a full-featured copy of Google Assistant, capable of performing the same tasks as the version of the assistant under. Android Among its capabilities is the possibility of choosing a language that the assistant will perceive - the original assistant understands since 2018. Russian

Google Assistant Windows Settings

The application supports light and dark interface themes and can run the keyboard shortcut assistant that the user chooses. The Windows 10 version of the program can be loaded with the operating system, placed on top of other windows, or, conversely, immediately collapsed into an icon in the notification area (to the lower right corner, where the clock is). The list of application settings for Windows, macOS and Linux may differ depending on the platform.

The assistant can ask any questions, as well as his mobile version. He can calculate the distance from point A to point B, clarify the weather in the desired settlement, talk about the stock rate or find the necessary information on the Internet through a search service. The program will also perform similar functions under Linux and macOS.

You can start the assistant by pressing the microphone icon button on the bottom right. You can also use keyboard shortcuts, a code phrase, or write your queries with text in the appropriate field. The user will have a history of all his requests.

Google Assistant под macOS

Android Police experts noticed that not all the commands available in the mobile Assistant worked on its desktop unofficial clone. In particular, they did not find a constant listening mode, which does not allow the assistant to respond to the Ok, Google command, and continuous conversation with the assistant turned out to be more inconsistent than on other devices, although the settings menu implies that this feature is supported^[3].

2019

McDonald's accepts job applications through Amazon and Google voice assistants

At the end of September 2019, McDonald's announced a new initiative in which owners of Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant devices can send job applications through voice assistants. The company sees this program, called Apply Thru, as another way to attract young people to work. More details here.

Google pays people to listen to user conversations with Google Assistant

Google pays contractors to listen and decrypt what users say to Google Assistant voice assistant. The Belgian television and radio company VRT was the first to report this in July 2019, and then the news was picked up by the media around the world^[4].

VRT journalist Tim Verheyden managed to get more than a thousand audio files from an unnamed Google contractor with user conversations recorded through smart speakers, phones and surveillance cameras. Most of them are questions asked to the voice assistant (about the weather forecast, films, etc.). However, about 150 entries were made when Google Assistant was activated accidentally, for example, during a telephone conversation or personal conversation. Among such files were recordings of discussions of love relations, family issues, etc.

As Google explains, some passages of voice requests are transcribed to improve speech recognition. However, the fact that Google Assistant records private conversations, and even accidentally, causes great concern for both users and security experts.

The contractor also showed Verheiden a special Google application called Crowdsource, through which he gets access to audio recordings for decoding. In some cases, contractors are caught with audio recordings of apparent violence, but they do not have any instructions on what to do in such cases.

In response to the VRT report, Google representatives announced the start of an investigation against the contractor for violating the terms of the confidentiality agreement. According to them, "language experts from around the world" decrypt audio recordings made by the voice assistant, but they are provided with no more than 0.2% of all audio files that are not associated with user accounts for analysis.

2018

85% Flight Delay Prediction Feature

In December 2018, Google Assistant introduced a feature that allows you to predict changes in the departure time of aircraft. Developers claim that the new technology works with 85 percent accuracy.

Google's voice assistant uses machine learning technology and data from the requested airline and other sources to predict likely flight delays. The service also reports on the reasons for the delayed flight. In addition, it is alleged that notifications of delayed flights will come to users ahead of official statements by air carriers.

Google Assistant learned to predict flight delay with 85 percent accuracy

To get information about whether the departure will take place on time or not, the user needs to make a voice request similar to this: "Hey, Google. Will my flight be scheduled? "Or" Hey, Google. What is the status of an American Airlines flight from Philadelphia to Denver?. "

According to Fortune, information about possible delays in flights is especially useful before the holidays, when many people fly to other cities to relatives, friends or for tourist holidays. Flight status notifications help travelers navigate more easily at crowded airports. Users can search for information about delayed departures on their own on specialized sites, such as FlightAware, but the Google service can do this more conveniently, and sometimes more efficiently, since it uses information from numerous sources and smart algorithms.

Flight alerts are not scheduled to send a lot of services and companies. For example, Apple does this through Push notifications when there is an electronic boarding pass, and most air carriers notify their customers through their own applications, by email or by phone.^[5]

The OK Google team now works in iPhone

In November 2018, a new version of the Google Assistant voice assistant for iOS was released, which received the function of launching the service with the OK, Google command. This was made possible thanks to the Siri Teams.

However, the "OK, Google" command does not work in the iPhone as in Android, where you just need to say this phrase and then make any request. In iOS, you first have to start Siri by clicking on the "Home" button or the "Hello, Siri" command and only then you can say "OK, Google" - then the Google Assistant application will launch and will be ready to listen to the command (search for information on the Internet, output weather reports, etc.). Of course, such integration cannot be called "seamless," but this is better than it was before.

Google has updated the Google Assistant app for iOS, adding support for "Siri Commands"

In addition, Siri Commands allows you to use Siri to manage supported smart home devices through Google Assistant. For example, you can record the command "Google, I'm asleep" and assign it to turn off light and music through Google Assistant.

Apple released the Commands app for all users in September 2018. The program allows you to automate the sequence of actions in other applications. A complex sequence of actions can be "programmed" per touch or voice command.  For example, the "go home" team can be assigned the following combination: find out the route home, tell loved ones the time of arrival and turn on the news on the radio. 

By November 2018, the application contains more than 300 built-in actions and supports many programs, including Contacts, Calendar, Maps, Music, Photo, Camera, Reminders, Safari, Health, as well as all third-party programs that support the Siri Quick Commands feature, including Google Assistant mentioned above.^[6]

2016

Google Assistant is a personal software assistant and technology for collecting personal data of users in corporate machine learning systems.

On May 18, 2016, Google introduced this technology.

The product is positioned as a continuation of Google Now technology. Google Assistant can participate in bilateral negotiations. It is also included in Google Allo, an instant messaging application.

Screenshot of the software window, (2016)

In 2016, the development company announced the inclusion of Google Assistant in the software package on Google Pixel smartphones and devices running Android Marshmallow and Nougat.

Google Assistant connects to Google Now and can:

• extract information, formalizing it into a more attractive look for the user,
• check the weather,
• participate in the dialogue through Google's natural language algorithm.

As part of Google, Allo Assistant listens, saves (forever) and systematizes user dialogs. Looking for keywords and concepts. The product is able to automatically offer various options for receiving goods or services, monitors the user's speech style for accumulating a response database.

2010

To date, automatic services in one form or another are present in each call center. However, the proportion of calls served by them in our country is significantly lower than the average To Europe - 10-15% against 60-70%. The Russian-language voice search "" Google initiates a new round of development of such services in the corporate segment. "Based on the global experience and trends of the Russian call-cent market, it can be predicted that within 2 years the level of automation of client calls processing will increase by 2 times and reach 20-30%," said Dmitry OpenCom Stolyar, sales director of the company, who has been implementing voice services in call-centers for more than 7 years.

Few Russian call center managers have a comprehensive understanding of all the functionality and applications of voice applications. The level of competence of Western companies in this matter is significantly higher. In addition, Europeans, in general, are more loyal to self-service systems and more often turn to their help. This is due to the fact that automatic and voice services were widely used in Europe many years ago, and people are used to using them in everyday life - voice GPS navigation, voice navigation on Internet sites, voice control of a computer, various household devices and on-board electronics in a car, voice dialing of a telephone number or sms and much more.

Recently, Google announced the launch of the Russian-language version of Google Mobile Application. Voice Russian-language search "Google" is a revolutionary service for the Russian market. And not only from a technological point of view (although here it is on the same level with the development of companies that have been specializing in "voice" for many years), but also with ideological. Analysts previously stated that the Russian market is not yet ripe for the mass distribution of voice services, but the arrival of such a large player as Google refutes these theses. Already in the short term, voice services can become understandable and familiar to the Russian consumer, which, of course, will make them more popular in the corporate segment.

The new Google service is not the only example of a high-tech and at the same time user-friendly voice application. There are other innovative developments that will determine the future development of the call center market. "First of all, this is the use of open grammar in speech recognition and the voice verification system are Western solutions that we are already implementing in our projects," commented Alexey Shcheglov, CEO of Open Communications.

The use of open grammar gives the user the opportunity to request the necessary information in an arbitrary, natural form - as if he were communicating with the operator. The system automatically detects keywords and processes the query. The technology allows you to create more friendly services and expand their applications.

Voice verification, according to many experts, will become one of the most popular voice services in the near future, especially in the financial sector. To access individual information, the client no longer needs to remember and dictate a complex password - it is enough to pronounce an arbitrary phrase that the system will compare with a pre-recorded voice impression. Voice verification technology is highly reliable and reduces fraud and transaction costs.

Voice applications are a convenient way for a user to interact with a mobile phone, computer and call center. It simplifies and accelerates the resolution of emerging issues, without requiring companies to invest in equipment or increase the number of operators.

According to a benchmarking study by Knowlagent, 42% of US call centers plan to invest in IVR in 2010. The surge in interest in voice technologies on the Russian market gives reason to predict that in the near future many domestic call centers will follow the path of Western colleagues.