Affiliate links on Android Authority may earn us a commission. Learn more.
More features coming to Google Assistant, including support for over 30 languages
- In a new blog entry, Google discussed future capabilities of its Google Assistant, including support for over 30 languages before the end of the year.
- Google also committed to working with carriers and OEM’s to better integrate Assistant into their products and services.
- Expect Assistant to have a huge presence at MWC 2018, just at CES 2018.
About a week ago, information leaked in a slideshow presentation in Amsterdam that Google would allegedly be adding many more new languages to Google Assistant in 2018 and bringing Google Home products to many more countries. We were skeptical of the leak for a variety of reasons, but now it looks like Google’s confirmed at least part of the leak was true.
Today, Google Vice President of Product Nick Fox posted an entry to Google’s blog giving an update on Google Assistant’s future. In the post, Fox stated Google Assistant will understand voice commands in “more than 30 languages” by the end of 2018. Currently, Assistant only works with eight languages: English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, and Portuguese.
Not only will the number of understood languages quadruple this year, but Assistant will also be bilingual. For example, if you speak English at work but German at home, Assistant will automatically swap languages appropriately. The bilingual feature will first be made available to speakers of English, French, and German, with support for other languages to come later.
Google also reaffirmed its commitment to working with OEM’s to better integrate Assistant in phones. This includes device-specific settings and functions, as well as being able to activate Assistant while the phone’s screen is off.
Carriers are also on board to make Assistant work with their services. Google’s vision is for wireless customers to gain information about their plan or communicate with carrier support directly through the Assistant. This most likely means you could say something like, “Hey Google, how’s my data usage this month?” and Assistant would answer after checking your plan.
Finally, Fox also said Google is committed to better integrating the Assistant on your phone with the Assistant in Google Home devices. Soon, you will be able to request location-based reminders using a Google Home product, and the reminder will notify you via your phone when you are at the required location.
No mention was made of the leak’s claim Google Home would appear in 52 countries by the end of the year.
You can read the full blog entry here. Expect Google Assistant to have an enormous presence at Mobile World Congress 2018, just like it did at CES in January.