Google announced today that 500 million people are now using Google Assistant across smartphones, TVs, smart home devices, and other gadgets.
That figure represents the number of people using Google Assistant each month, a metric which Google has never previously revealed. While half a billion is a considerable number of monthly users, recent data indicates Google Assistant is trailing behind Apple’s Siri and Amazon’s Alexa.
A study published last month reports Google Assistant holds 9% of the virtual assistant market. In comparison, Apple’s Siri holds 35% marketshare worldwide. Though it’s important to keep in mind marketshare takes into account just the install base, not how many people are using the virtual assistant each month.
Another study, published in August 2019, shows Google trailing behind Amazon in smart speaker marketshare. If anything, these numbers are in Google’s favor, because it means there’s tremendous room for growth. The number of monthly active users could conceivably be much higher in years to come.
New Features Coming to Google Assistant
In announcing Google Assistant’s number of monthly active users, Google also announced some new features coming to the virtual assistant later this year.
Here’s a rundown of new features on the way:
- Longform reading: Google Assistant will be able to read articles out loud with a simple command such as “Hey Google, read this page.”
- Scheduled Actions: Users can ask Google Assistant to perform a specific task at a certain time of day, such as turning the lights on in the morning.
- Sticky Notes: Google Assistant on smart displays will be able to post sticky notes with a command such as “Hey Google, leave a note.”
Lastly, Google announced today that Google Assistant’s interpreter mode will be expanding globally to airports, banks, and other businesses. That’s sure to boost Assistant’s monthly active users and install base even further.