In a follow-up to mid-2017 research on US smart speaker ownership, NPR and Edison Research have released new findings indicating that nearly 40 million Americans now own the devices. That number is roughly double what it was in July 2017 and shows the impact of 2017 holiday sales on the market. The new survey was […]
Smart speaker ownership steals time from smartphones, TV, radio Read More »
We’re already over a week into 2018, and the start of a new year is a great time to check in and see where we stand as an industry — and how things might change this year. Prepare for fake news algorithm updates Back in 2010, Google was getting beaten up in the media for
The latest in a growing number of studies on voice search and virtual assistants, Adobe Digital Insights (ADI), found that sales of “voice assistants” (let’s assume that’s smart speakers) grew roughly 103 percent in Q4 vs. a year ago. Most of these sales (79 percent) took place in the fourth quarter (lots of gifts). Data
Last week Google announced that the Google Assistant was available on 400 million devices. At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas this week it’s announcing new device partnerships. Amazon is also making announcements with a range of device makers. Alexa is being integrated into a set of expensive augmented reality glasses ($1,000) from Vuzix.
It’s Google Home vs. Amazon Alexa at CES in the battle for the voice ecosystem Read More »
Google said in a blog post this morning, “The [Google] Assistant is now available on more than 400 million devices.” When Google says “devices” it’s including Android smartphones, tablets, TVs, headphones . . . and Google Home smart speakers. What we don’t get from the post is how many Google Home, Mini and Max speakers
Google says Assistant now on more than 400 million devices Read More »
Google has published on the Google Research blog the search quality raters guidelines, contractors guidelines to evaluate Google’s search results, specifically for the Google Assistant and voice search results. It is similar to the web search quality guidelines, but it changes in that there is no screen to look at when evaluating such results; instead
New search quality raters guidelines for Google Assistant and voice search evaluations Read More »
According to a report on CNBC, Amazon is in talks with several large consumer product companies, such as Procter & Gamble, about advertising and sponsorship opportunities through Alexa and voice search. According to the report: The e-tailer has been in talks with several companies about letting them promote products on the best-selling Echo devices, which are
Amazon in discussions with consumer brands about ads on Alexa Read More »
Image: Google This week, we spotted a new treatment for Google Express in the search results. This included two new elements: a promotion for the program at the top of the results and a new look for Google Express ads in the Shopping carousel. The “Get it with Google Express” promotion at the very top
New test prominently showcases Google Express in mobile search results Read More »
Google announced it has expanded the Google Assistant software development kit to support additional languages. That means developers can now bring Google Assistant applications to more people. Google Assistant now supports these additional languages and regions English Australia, English Canada, English UK, English US, French Canadian, French France, German and Japanese. Lack of support for
The Google Assistant SDK adds support for additional languages & more Read More »
Google is rolling out the Assistant to more devices. It will soon be available on Android tablets running Nougat and Marshmallow, and smartphones running Lollipop. Tablets in the US running English will be the first to get access. However, a wide array of Android 5.0 smartphones (Lollipop) will get the Assistant: Those operating in English
Google bringing the Assistant to tablets and Lollipop Android phones Read More »
