[ad_1]
Google Assistant is in the process of getting a makeover on smartphones and eliminates one of the biggest technological craze of 2016.
When Google Assistant arrived a few years ago, chatbots were fashionable in products such as Facebook Messenger and Skype from Microsoft. The simulation of a round-trip conversation was supposed to be more effective than digging into traditional applications, and chatbot supporters touted this model as the future of software design. The Google Assistant debuted as a feature of Google's Allo Messaging app. So you can exchange SMS with the search giant, as you would with a friend.
Google has since spoiled this approach and has "suspended" development on Allo. The new version of Google Assistant, now available on Android and available on the iPhone in a few weeks, puts the focus on visual response cards with which you can interact and stay on the screen even when you ask questions. In the meantime, the transcript has been moved from the bottom to the top of the screen. In most cases, you will only see the most recent topic of conversation. The overall experience is less like texting than using an app.
"When we created the wizard, you can clearly find Allo's inspiration in what we did, in this chatty model that comes and goes in which you chat with a smart wizard," says Chris Perry, Google's product manager who leads the wizard. on Android. "And we found that it was a pretty restrictive model for us. It ended up constraining us in different ways. "
"Everyone is trying to understand how to do things"
According to Ye-Jeong Kim, Google's user experience manager for Search and Assistant, one of the biggest problems with the chatbot approach was that it was too linear. You could get a visual map when you're wondering about the weather, but if you asked for a follow-up on wind chill or future predictions, the resulting transcript would repel the original weather map from the screen. This may be confusing, so Google will simply update the original map with the new information you will ask.
"If you think of the visual, unlike a spoken or written conversation, the visual does not have to be so ephemeral," says Kim. "It lasts and helps to facilitate the conversation."
In addition, not all Google Assistant devices are good for dialog bubbles. When Assistant arrived in 2016, Google pushed him mainly into Allo and his new Google Home smart speaker. Now, Google Assistant is available in cars via Android Auto, on kitchen counters with devices such as the Lenovo Smart Display, as well as on TVs via Chromecast and Android TV. A chat-like interface does not make much sense on these devices.
Even on smartphones, users do more than just talk to their virtual assistants. According to Perry, about half of the interactions with the wizard's smartphone app still involve touching the screen. By rethinking the wizard with more visuals, Google configures it to make it more consistent across all devices and all situations.
"We wanted to create a framework that could expand and adapt more fluidly to the different contexts in which you find yourself," says Kim.
This does not mean that the elements of the conversation disappear completely. The Google Assistant's answers always include text at the top of the screen and suggest follow-ups at the bottom. By sliding down, you can still scroll through the previous queries. But overall, the hope is not to generate long transcripts for each conversation.
"It's not that, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay, it's okay," Perry said. "It's an immersive experience inside the canvas."
Despite the new system, Perry still recognizes that Google – and whoever works on voice assistants – still has a lot of work to do. Accepting and relinquishing the chatbot model is a sign that no one has really deciphered the code to place virtual assistants on screens.
"It looks a lot like 2009," said Perry. When we build applications, we have this new platform and everyone is trying to understand how you should do things. "
Loop in the application manufacturers
Even with the new design of the Assistant, Google points out that it is not a matter of replacing applications. Do not expect Google Assistant to show you recent Twitter posts or to provide its own miniature version of the Instagram camera. For these uses, you can also go directly to the application. (However, Google Assistant can open these apps for you.)
Nevertheless, it is likely that the lines between standalone and standalone applications will blur with time. Perry points out the flights as an example. To book a flight today, you can open the application for an airline such as United or an aggregator such as Expedia. However, in the future, you will be able to ask Google Assistant to offer you flights to a particular location on a given date and provide you with its own interface to navigate through all options. At this point, is an autonomous application really necessary?
"You look at all the interactions you have with your phone, there are many that can be simplified," says Perry.
The big challenge will be convincing external developers of the idea. Google lays the groundwork for letting third-party developers add their own visual responses to phones. So, a company like Starbucks can try to sell you food products (with pictures!) After placing an order for pickup. The Google Assistant interface would then behave as a kind of mediator, causing users to use different third-party skills or applications based on their goals.
However, although Google has every interest in channeling more users on its smartphone through the wizard – more interactions mean more content for the company's search and advertising machine – it's easier for developers to stick to the apps they already have. The same could be said of users who have spent the last ten years familiarizing themselves with applications as the primary means of interacting with smartphones.
Ye-Jeong Kim hopes that the new design will begin to change mentalities. If Google Assistant can now be a little more useful, users may be able to trust it over time because it will better handle more complex tasks.
"I want users to be able to build a mental model of this relationship with Assistant," she explains. ? Weather & # 39; "
[ad_2]
Source link
