Google Assistant wants to talk to you like a friend—and call in your dinner reservation

Google Assistant may have debuted as a bonus feature in the company’s ho-hum Allo messaging app, but it’s been on a roll ever since. The AI helper is now embedded in more than 500 million devices worldwide, Google revealed Tuesday during its annual I/O developer conference keynote. The company is rolling out new features and products to make Assistant more helpful no matter what sort of device you use—and to keep pace with Amazon Echo’s fast and furious improvements.And get this: In the future, Google Assistant will even call local businesses to book appointments for you.It’s true. Google’s machine learning chops have advanced far enough that you’ll be able to ask Assistant to schedule an appointment for you at a business that can’t be easily booked online, and Google’s big brains in the sky will actually ring local shops to set up a reservation.To read this article in full, please click here Continue reading at 'PC World'

[ PC World | 2018-05-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #google assistant #bonus feature #amazon echo #book appointments

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Google Play Jazzes Up E-book Nonfiction

Google has launched a new version of Google Play Books that it hopes will make for a better reading experience for nonfiction titles. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-10-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A Call for Digital Media Ethics

Marcello Vena of AllBrain in Italy is repulsed by a recent report on publishing on Vox.com and calls for a renewed sense of ethics in those covering digital media. The post A Call for Digital Media Ethics appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-10-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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German Publishers Bow To Google’s Market Power In Ongoing Text Snippets Fight

A tug of war between Google and German publishers over how online news content is displayed in search results has ended in surrender (for now) for the publishers — who have grudgingly agreed the search giant can display snippets of their co ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2014-10-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #market power #german publishers #search results #search giant #display snippets


German publishers capitulate and let Google post news snippets -- for now

German publishers said they are bowing to Google’s market power, and will allow the search engine powerhouse to show news snippets in search results free of charge, at least for the time being.The decision is a step in an ongoing legal dispute between the publishers and Google. Publishers are... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2014-10-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Google, Facebook continue massive lobbying efforts in Q3

Google and Facebook continued to pour millions of dollars into federal political lobbying in the third quarter in attempts to influence U.S. lawmakers and have legislation written in their favor.Google spent US$3.94 million between July and September while Facebook spent $2.45 million, according... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2014-10-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Feiwel and Friends to Publish Cecelia Ahern YA Novels

Macmillan’s Feiwel and Friends imprint has acquired U.S. and Canadian rights to Cecelia Ahern's debut YA books, 'Flawed' and its sequel, 'Perfect.' Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-10-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Mining a Rich Backlist: PW Talks with Joyce Meyer

Publishing powerhouse Joyce Meyer has written some 100 books and in the past 12 years alone racked up more than 30 million in sales, since FaithWords acquired her backlist in 2002 for more than $10 million. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-10-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Editorial Assistant Turns Blog Post into Multibook Deal

What’s every blogger’s dream? A book deal. Even better: a multibook deal from a single blog post. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-10-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Baking Like the French: PW Talks With Dorie Greenspan

The James Beard Award-winning author chats with PW about why the French don’t bake for fun, how women in France never say “non” to dessert, and one French take on a very American treat. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-10-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Minecraft maker talks movies, YouTube and why it's not making birthday cakes

Mojang COO Vu Bui: Licensing is a small portion of our business and we want to keep it that wayWhat is Minecraft? Its a game, obviously: one that its developer Mojang has sold nearly 54m copies of across computers, consoles and mobile devices so far.Its a series of books published by Egmont that... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-10-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook Expands Mobile Ad Net to Make a Run at Google, Yahoo

Facebook's mobile ad network is officially open for business.Five months after the social network formally launched its Audience Network with a small set of app publishers and advertisers, Facebook is opening up the mobile ad network to any media buyer and seller. The company is also adding a... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2014-10-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Stories Keep Coming: PW Talks with Lauraine Snelling

Novelist Lauraine Snelling has authored 80 books since she began her writing career in 1982, has more than two million books in print, and has just published the first in her fifth historical series set among Norwegian immigrants to North Dakota, where her mother was born and raised: “Strong... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-10-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Google strips down its news service to pacify German publishers

Google has a tumultuous history with the German publishing industry, which has long taken issue with the search giant's indexing of news stories. Starting next week, Google Germany will no longer display summaries and image thumbnails for news... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2014-10-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Heartland Fall Forum 2014: A Call to Action

At Heartland Fall Forum, booksellers shared tips for making a successful store and discussed the need to call out politicians on what they do to actually help small business. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-10-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Authors Guild Calls for Antitrust Scrutiny of Amazon

In a message circulated to members, and shared with the public, the Authors Guild today confirmed that it hosted a meeting on August 1 between a group of authors and the Department of Justice, in an effort draw antitrust scrutiny of Amazon's practices. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-10-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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9 Lessons Publishers Should Take from Google's Leaked "Search Quality Rating Guidelines"

By D. Eadward Tree Google, the epitome of the internet ventures that have so disrupted the magazine industry, turns out to have a crush on traditional publishers, a recently leaked report reveals. But... Continue reading at Publishing Executive

[ Publishing Executive | 2014-10-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Next Vegi-Renaissance: PW Talks to Yotam Ottolenghi

Bestselling cookbook author Yotam Ottolenghi talked to PW about his new cookbook, moving beyond the expected, working with "exotic" ingredients, and the one question he can't be pinned down on. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-09-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Authors will fire back at Amazon with calls for a government investigation

If you've been following the protracted war between Amazon and Hachette, you know that Amazon's been stymieing sales of certain books by making it impossible to pre-order them, and pushing back delivery of others all over a ebook contract dispute.... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2014-09-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Hutchinson mourns 'loyal friend' Abse

Hutchinson has paid tribute to poet Dannie Abse, who has died aged 91. The publisher, now an... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-09-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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“What Ratio of Your Blood to Pig’s Blood Are We Talking About Here?”

The 33 ⅓ book series features short volumes about music that allow writers to go long on a wide variety of albums. As the series celebrates its 10th year and 100th volume, Slate caught up with energetic and enigmatic musician Andrew W.K. and Phillip Crandall—the author who profiled him and his... Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2014-09-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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