If someone told you twenty years ago that you would one day be able to talk to your phone and have it understand you and respond accordingly, you probably would have called them crazy; but Google is known for taking crazy ideas and making them a reality. Case in point, take the new Google search with voice recognition tools. What was once a neat feature that the company added to Google Now a year ago is now a powerful new feature that is being expanded upon in order to serve nearly all of Google’s apps and services.
The New Service Is Rolled Out
It is Google search with voice recognition tools where most people will find themselves being exposed to this new and innovative technology. With the new Google Search function, you can ask the search engine, in your own voice, various questions relating to Gmail, your Google Calendar appointments and settings and your Google+ account.
For example, using the Google search with voice recognition tools, you can tell Google, “Give me my recent scheduled flight information,” or, “View photos from my Google+ account.”
Users of the Google search engine and all apps made by the company will notice that the voice recognition capabilities are available pretty much across the board, including both desktop and mobile apps and platforms. If you don’t see the Google search with voice recognition tools icon at the top of your various Google products or under the settings icon, just wait. The company is slowly rolling the program out to a nationwide audience. Depending on where you live, your update should be activated soon.
The Nuts And Bolts Behind Google Search With Voice Recognition Tools
Google debuted contextual voice recognition a year ago, and it seems that testing has been complete. The voice activation program will also utilize Google’s Knowledge Graph which will enable it to comprehend and respond to thousands upon thousands of commands spoken in various manners. For instance, it will know that, “When is my dinner reservation?” “What time is my dinner reservation?” and “What time is dinner scheduled for?” all imply the same basic question.
The Power Of Contextual Voice Google Search
The new Google search with voice recognition tools will also let users ask pertinent follow up questions. “What time is my dinner reservation?” can be followed up with, “How do I get to the restaurant?” or “call the restaurant” in order to confirm.
When users ask for directions, the Google search with voice recognition tools will know to open the Google Maps application in order to give you turn-by-turn directions right to the restaurant’s front door.
When asked about various ways the new Google voice recognition feature can be used, Google spokeswoman Roya Soleimani mentioned that users asking about restaurants and reservations could then turn around and inquire about the nutritional content of the food to be served.
The examples she mentioned included, “How many calories are in avocados?” with the follow up, ‘What about sake?” and then, “What about rice?”
For those who may fear that the Google search with voice recognition tools is too invasive or that the feature threatens privacy somehow, not to worry. The information exposed in the search feature will be limited to individual Google accounts. You can view your own calendar, photos and Gmail information, but you can’t view anyone else’s unless you’ve been able to gain access to their account.
The new Google search with voice recognition tools is raising security alarms with some users. For instance, those who are very protective of their information don’t like all of their Google information available from a single search box.
Royy Levine, Google search product manager, when asked about this possible security breach, “[Your Google Information] is just for you – secure, via encrypted connection, and visible only to you when you’re signed in to Google.”
Again, if you are worried about security, the apprehension is probably unwarranted. Google didn’t change its privacy policy and the company is remaining adamant that the information will remain safe.
There should be more features coming soon to Google search with voice recognition tools. Soleimani indicated that the company was conducting field tests containing a substantial amount of participants in order to perfect the new Google search feature and to make it the most useful for all users.
Yes, the future is here. You can now talk to your phone or computer and it will understand you, and in many cases it will talk right back. As long as the computer voices responding remain nice and polite, we welcome this technology with open arms.
