All You Ever Wanted To Know About Google Assistant

alexa-skill-or-action-on-google-served-up-by-true-replyWe all live busy lives and between work, family, school, and play we could always use a little more help. You forgot an important event, got lost while going somewhere, need information on a place but don’t know who to ask or you’re just stressed or bored and need a joke to cheer you up. Most of us have gone through at least one of these situations, but luckily for us, Google answered the call and gave us Google Assistant. 

If you use a device that runs on Android, you likely have used Google Assistant before - maybe not even realizing that’s what it was. According to Google, in 2020 their assistant was used by 500 million persons every month and is available on over 1 billion devices worldwide. 

It is easy to see how big a deal Google Assistant is and its importance to our lives, but it wasn’t always this way.

History And Early Days Of Google Assistant

Even though Google Assistant is the voice assistant from Google we know, love, and use today it was not the first of its kind from Google. Google Assistant was launched in May 2016 and was made available first on the Google Pixel phone. 

Google Assistant is a descendant of Google Voice Search and Google Now. While Google Voice Search is just basically searching for information on your device using your voice, Google Now was the closest and perhaps the truest descendant of Google Assistant. Google Now could inform you of your next appointment, inform you about the weather where you are now or where you are going, give you traffic information, flight information, and more. The most practical difference between Google Now and Google Assistant is that Google Assistant allows the users to speak more conversationally and thus makes information more accessible.

Google Assistant started humbly on Google Allo, Google’s chat app, its duty was to enter chats, either when it would be useful to do so or when it was asked. Though it was not perfect Google was focused and motivated on making it the best it can be. Google started by hiring Ryan Germick and Emma Coats to give the assistant more intelligence and personality. 

When Google Assistant made its appearance in 2016 on the Google Pixel smartphone, it wasn’t the best voice assistant out there. Google invited hundreds of brands to assist them with Google Assistant and, in doing this, Google quickly closed the gap between it and the other voice assistants.

Features and Functionality

Google has a wide range of capabilities available to users once you say “OK Google” or “Hey Google.” Some of the things Google Assistant can do:

  • Control devices and smart home
  • Access information from calendars
  • Find information online
  • Control music
  • Run timers
  • Make appointments
  • Play Games

You can have a conversation with Google. Once you get the assistant’s attention with “OK Google” or “Hey Google,” you can engage with the assistant back and forth through to completion of your request. You can also ask several questions at the same time. The assistant can also differentiate between the voices of individuals and answer questions to suit whoever is asking in a personalized way.

Google Assistant can also check you into flights and, with the Google Duplex feature, it can even call a restaurant and book a table for you. The assistant can also act as an interpreter and is capable of translating the conversation for persons who do not understand the language. Google is also making sure its assistant is faster, more personalized, and uses less space on your device.

Google Assistant becomes closer and closer to being a real-life personal assistant that can do everything you want.

Devices That Have Google Assistant

Google Assistant can now be found on most if not all android devices and devices from Google. Google Home was released in 2016 and was the first smart speaker released by Google. Google then went on to release Google Home Mini in 2017 and also allowed other hardware manufacturers to use the smart assistant in their products.

 Some of the devices that have Google Assistant are:

Some Interesting Google Assistant Stats

Related to Devices

  • The number of smart home devices that support Google Assistant in September 2020 was 50,000
  • 23.9% of persons who use a smart speaker use on from Google
  • 27.7% of those who use voice assistants on smartphones use Google Assistant
  • Google Assistant has a total of 4,253 apps
  • In 2018 Google had a 32% share of the global smart speaker market and is expected to have a 48% share in 2022
  • 42.7% of android smartphone users have tried Google Assistant.
  • 36.8% of persons who shop online using their voice are Google device owners

Region Accessibility

  • In late 2018 Google sold 43 million home devices in the U.S. alone.
  • In 2019 Google had a 23.9% share of the U.S. smart speaker market.
  • Google Assistant had a 33% share of the U.S. smart display market in 2018.
  • In 2019 Google had a 41.5% Smart Display Market Share in Australia.
  • In 2019 68.2% of persons that owned a smart speaker in Australia owned Google Home.
  • Google had a 29.5% share of the U.K. smart speaker market in 2019.
  • In 2017 Google had a 33% smart speaker market share in Europe.
  • In Canada, 63% of smart speaker owners own only Google Home.

Demographics

  • 51% of persons 55 and over say they use Google Assistant because it allows them to instantly get access to information.
  • 23.2% of persons aged 18–29 who use smart speakers use one from Google.
  • 31.7% of persons aged 30–44 who use smart speakers use one from Google.
  • 21.1% of persons aged 45–60 who use smart speakers use one from Google.
  • 16.8% of persons aged 60 and over who use smart speakers use one from Google.
  • 27.1% of persons 18-29 who use voice assistants on smartphones use Google Assistant
  • 31.8% of persons 30-44 who use voice assistants on smartphones use Google Assistant.
  • 30.4% of persons 45-60 who use voice assistants on smartphones use Google Assistant.
  • 19.1% of persons 60 and over who use voice assistants on smartphones use Google Assistant.

Google Assistant today is a glamorous piece of technology continuously making strides and improving to make our lives better. The impressive rate at which it improves year after year will perhaps one day put it in a class of its own. It has only been around since 2016 and already has integrated itself into our lives in a way that makes us forget what life was like before it existed. Google Assistant has pushed the boundaries of innovation and will continue to do so.