Google Assistant’s fate has been an open question for over a year. Once a jewel in Google’s crown, the software was a key to the company’s mobile and smart home strategies. Half a decade ago, Google gave Home Mini speakers to grow its ecosystem.
Google Assistant’s Continued Role
On Tuesday, before next week’s Made by Google 2024 event, the company announced that Assistant is sticking around — at least on the Home/Nest side of the fence. Despite speculation about its future, Google confirmed that Assistant will continue to play a role in the Home ecosystem.
Google Smart Home Market Dynamics
Assistant and Alexa got a nice pop from the pandemic, as the world was suddenly forced to spend more time at home. But in recent years, both Google and Alexa have taken their feet off the gas. It’s hyperbole to say — as many have — that the smart home is dead. Many Americans own smart home devices; quickly survey your neighbourhood and see how many doorbell cameras you can spot. The promise of the smart home was never one or two connected devices per house, however. It was a fully automated connected home ecosystem.
Challenges in the Smart Home Industry
The world isn’t living in fully automated smart homes for many reasons. For another, the landscape has been fractured for most of its existence as device companies have pushed their apps and ecosystems. Bad experiences like that can permanently sour a consumer initially hooked by the hype cycle.
The Struggles of Smart Google Assistants
The assistants at the heart of these plays have had their struggles. Samsung’s Bixby and Microsoft’s Cortana disappeared entirely. Even Apple seemed to stop promoting Siri. The proliferation of generative AI platforms like ChatGPT suddenly made the last generation of smart assistants seem antiquated.
Integration of Gemini and Google Assistant
Earlier this year, Google let beta users opt into making its GenAI platform Gemini the default assistant on their Pixel devices. While Gemini and its apparent propensity for putting glue on pizza weren’t ready to replace Assistant outright, the days were seemingly numbered for its predecessor.
Google Future Developments and Gemini’s Role
With new Pixel devices just over the horizon, Assistant’s days on Android may still be numbered. For now, however, it still has a place on the home page. Along with the launch of a new Learning Thermostat and streaming set-top box, Google announced that Assistant will be sticking around its Home ecosystem, fueled by Gemini models. Gemini’s role in propping up Assistant will likely remain nebulous, but natural language is the most obvious application.
Improved Conversational Abilities
“You won’t have to phrase your question in a specific way — ask it in the way that feels most comfortable to you,” Google writes. “For example, ask ‘Is Pluto a planet?’ and then dig deeper with ‘Could they change their minds again?’ Can’t figure out the name of that song? Just ask Google, ‘What’s that iconic basketball theme song.’ Or Assistant can tap into Gemini’s generative capabilities to have fun during a family discussion, like ‘Help me make the case that Crocs are extremely cool — and mention sport mode.’ ”
Google Expected Features and Rollout
Those specific improvements are set to arrive later this year for Nest Aware subscribers as part of a public preview. Other clear applications for Gemini include the ability to summarize information — a feature at the centre of Google’s push to bring generative AI to its search offerings.
Branding and Future Outlook
Whether Google sticks with Google Assistant or calls it Gemini across the board is a question of branding. Apple recently gave Siri an AI-powered facelift powered by its new Apple Assistant models. Google appears poised to do the same — where the smart home is concerned.
