2 min

Google has redesigned its speech assistant. The new design comes with a more visual way to work with applications and devices, and with new tools for developers. That’s what Silicon Angle reports.

The changes are designed to meet user preferences. According to Manuel Bronstein, Vice President of Product Google Assistant, almost half of the interactions with the service include both voice commands and gestures.

The speech assistant now has the ability to display context-specific images for various situations. When a user asks for the weekly weather forecast, a list of expected temperatures for each day is displayed. There is also an icon with clouds. A request to turn on the smart lights shows a slider to set the brightness.

Developers

There are also new features for developers. Google has made it possible to develop its own interfaces for the extensions. The so-called “rich responses” can be created with “plug-and-play visual components”. The components are rolled out at the same time as the update.

There is also wider support for payments. Not only can physical goods be sold, but also digital goods such as online subscriptions and in-game goods.

There will also be a separate authentication tool for the service, called Google Sign-In for the Assistant. As a result, it is no longer possible to build a user management system from scratch for voice applications that require users to log in with their Google Account. The tool supports authentication via gestures and voice commands.

Finally, there will be a number of changes to the appearance of the Assistant’s controls. In this way, certain elements become larger and easier to see. The message function is streamlined to make certain actions easier. Since July this year, the Google Assistant can also be used in the Dutch language. The voice assistant is called Assistant here.

This news article was automatically translated from Dutch to give Techzine.eu a head start. All news articles after September 1, 2019 are written in native English and NOT translated. All our background stories are written in native English as well. For more information read our launch article.