Google Assistant now also in Dutch

Anyone with a smartphone running Android or iOS can today ask the Google assistant in Dutch, for example, to set off an alarm or show the way to the pizzeria the closer. And if you ask if there are any files, the wizard shows it on the map. Then you can open Google Maps with one click.

The assistant can do more because other companies and organizations have also provided services for this. For example, you can talk to Buienradar for weather forecasts, ask for latest offers at Jumbo or Albert Heijn. And if you want to hear the latest news, you can ask one of the Dutch press organs.

The deployment of the Dutch language Google assistant will take place later in the day. Merijn has already tested it. See the first experiences

News updates

RTL Nieuws is one of the first organizations to do it. "We bring an update every morning at six o'clock, and you will be personally informed in a minute and a half of what has happened and what you need to pay attention to that day," he said. said assistant editor Marc Schreuder.

Sports and boulevard updates also appear later in the day. With the new updates for the Google Assistant, RTL wants to pave the way for this new market for the Netherlands, says Schreuder. "We strongly believe in the possibility of providing services via voice assistants, and you can also ask your TV to broadcast the latest news from RTL in a very short time."

The NOS has also developed an app for the assistant, as well as a number of regional broadcasters.

Off, Spot

You can also use the wizard with other services such as Netflix and Spotify or by playing a series or movie.

You can also use your TV abroad, the smart Philips and Ikea lamps, smart plugs and smart thermostats such as Nest.

In the Netherlands, we have to wait a little longer for Google's smart speaker, Google Home, to hit the market. It's still happening this year, according to a Google spokesperson. From this moment, the assistant also works on intelligent speakers of Sonos, LG and Sony

Competition for Siri and Alexa

Abroad, digital butlers have been available for a long time for smartphones and smartspeakers. use English as the language of instruction.

Google is not the only one that collapses. Apple's intelligent assistant calls Siri and Amazon a Alexa. Apple, however, has lagged behind its competitors because it can not do much at this time. Alexa is not yet available in Dutch

In addition, smart speakers in the Netherlands are not yet available. When the Apple Homepod is on sale here is not yet clear – some analysts rely on 2020. Amazon Echo speakers are on sale in the Netherlands via the German site Amazon, but they do not speak yet Dutch.

Smart speaker becomes important

Therefore, the market for smart speakers in the Netherlands is not as important as in the United States. But even here, the smart speaker will quickly gain popularity, says analyst Francisco Jeronimo of the IDC market research. And on smart speakers, the voice assistant will be used a lot, he believes.

"It's because a smart speaker offers a better experience than talking to your phone, it seems more natural." People are not used to Siri or Google Assistant to ask for things, but you do it with a smart speaker, "says the analyst. As soon as people do that, they do not want anything else, he thinks.

Free?

Before the end of the year, Google wants to operate the voice assistant in 80 countries and 30 languages. The wizard can be used for free, both on smartphones and on other smart devices.

This is a new way for the company to provide information and services even more easily and thus keep one step ahead of the competition. Jeronimo

"Consumers are so used to not wanting to do without this wizard, who prefers to opt for this Google service than those of another application, and who provides information that Google can use to sell advertisements, "says the analyst.

But this is not unimportant: the more people use the wizard, the better it is. Especially for the wizard and Google , says Jeronimo. "Artificial intelligence uses all the questions and information of users, and eventually it becomes even smarter and it can give more answers."