Google Now

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Google Now
Original author(s)Google
Developer(s)Google
Initial releaseJuly 9, 2012; 11 years ago (2012-07-09)
Operating systemAndroid 4.1+ ("Jelly Bean")
Available inEnglish
TypeIntelligent software assistant
WebsiteGoogle Now

Google Now is an intelligent personal assistant available for Google's Android operating system. An extension of Android's native Google Search application, Google Now uses a natural language user interface to answer questions, make recommendations, and perform actions by delegating requests to a set of web services. Along with answering user-initiated queries, Google Now passively delivers information to the user that it predicts they will want, based on their search habits. It was first included in Android 4.1 ("Jelly Bean") and was first supported on the Galaxy Nexus. Popular Science named Google Now the "Innovation of the Year" for 2012.[1]

History

In late 2011, reports surfaced that Google was developing a virtual assistant for the next version of Android, similar to Apple's Siri. It was originally codenamed "Majel" after Majel Barrett, the wife of Gene Roddenberry, and well known as the voice of computer systems in his Star Trek franchise; it was also codenamed "assistant".[2]

On June 27, 2012, Google Now was unveiled as part of the premier demonstration of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean at the Google I/O.[3]

On October 29, 2012, Google Now received an update through the Google Play Store bringing the addition of Gmail cards.[4] Google Now displays cards with information pulled from the user's Gmail account, such as flight information, package tracking information, hotel reservations and restaurant reservations. Other additions were movies, concerts, stocks and news cards based on the users location and search history. Also included is creating calendar events using voice input.

On December 5, 2012, an update to the Google Search application brought several new features to Google Now update, including cards for: nearby events; searching by camera when at a museum or shop; airplane boarding passes found from e-mail (United Airlines only, more airlines to come); weather at upcoming travel destinations; birthday reminders; and monthly summaries of biking and walking activities. New voice action features included with this update include the ability to post to Google+, song recognition capabilities, and the ability to scan bar codes.[5]

Functionality

Google Now is implemented as an aspect of the Google Search application. It recognizes repeated actions that a user performs on the device (common locations, repeated calendar appointments, search queries, etc.) to display more relevant information to the user in the form of "cards". The system leverages Google's Knowledge Graph project, a system used to assemble more detailed search results by analyzing their meaning and connections.[3][6]

Specialized cards currently comprise:[7]

  • Activity Summary (Walking and Biking)
  • Birthday
  • Events
  • Flights
  • Gmail: Events
  • Gmail: Flights
  • Gmail: Hotels
  • Gmail: Package Tracking
  • Gmail: Restaurants
  • Movies
  • News
  • Next Meeting
  • Photo Spot Nearby
  • Places
  • Public Alerts
  • Public Transit
  • Research Topics
  • Sports
  • Stocks
  • Traffic
  • Travel: Attractions Nearby
  • Travel: Time Back Home
  • Translate
  • Weather

Reception

Scott Webster of CNET praised Google Now for its ability to remind users of events based on past location histories and check-ins and further commended it for providing "information instantly in a clean, intuitive manner" without having the user to request for it.[8] Critically, a review by Ryan Paul of Ars Technica claims that like most other voice activated apps, including Siri, voice recognition is a major issue. However, Paul noted that the ability to type queries provides users with more options.[9]

Some commentators have noted that the predictive power of Google Now reveals "exactly how much data and information Google actually has about [users'] routines and daily lives."[10]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Google Now wins 'Innovation of the Year', runs laps around 'outdated' Siri". BGR. 2012-11-15. Retrieved 2012-12-26.
  2. ^ Webster, Scott (2011-12-15). "Google's project Majel gets more interesting by the day". CNET. Retrieved 2011-12-28.
  3. ^ a b "Google I/O Day One: Google continues attacks on Apple, Amazon". CNET. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  4. ^ Ravenscraft, Eric (2012-10-29). "Google Search Updated, Brings New Google Now Cards And Voice Actions - Yes, You Can Set Calendar Events". Android Police. Retrieved 2012-10-31.
  5. ^ D'Orazio, Dante (2012-12-05). "Google Now takes on Passbook, adds QR code airport check-in and camera search". The Verge. Retrieved 2012-12-05.
  6. ^ "Google Makes Search 'More Human' with Knowledge Graph". BBC News. May 16, 2012. Retrieved May 18, 2012.
  7. ^ Kellex (2012-12-05). "Here is the Complete List of Google Now Cards". Droid Life. DRD Life Inc. Retrieved 2012-12-07.
  8. ^ Webster, Scott (2012-07-02). "Reading the tea leaves of Google Now". CNET. Retrieved 2012-12-26.
  9. ^ Paul, Ryan (2012-08-13). "Review: Android's "Google Now" can teach Siri a few tricks". Arstechnica. Retrieved 2012-12-26.
  10. ^ Wortham, Jenna (2012-06-28). "Will Google's Personal Assistant Be Creepy or Cool?". New York Times Bits Blog. Retrieved 2013-1-30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)

External links

Template:Computable knowledge

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