Android Police
Google is putting Duplex to further use. The AI concierge voice service technology may call a business to check on the status and availability of in-demand inventory. The feature is being tested with some businesses in the United States.
Google
Google has begun to fact check information in Google Images globally to help people make more informed judgments about what they see on the web. Efforts build on the fact check features in Search and News, which people come across billions of times per year.
Reuters
Germany, Italy, Poland and Latvia have launched Bluetooth-based apps using technology from Apple and Google that log contacts on a mobile device. Reuters reports the approach is backed by a majority of the European Union’s 27 member states. On Tuesday the EU announced member states have agreed on the technical standards for interoperability between smartphone apps that track the risk of COVID-19 infections, a huge step forward for travel across the EU.
Reuters
Carrefour announced Tuesday it will work with Google to launch a voice-based grocery shopping service in France to accelerate its expansion into food ecommerce. The service works via Google Assistant and is part of a strategic partnership between the two companies dating back to June 2018.
Reuters
Antitrust regulators from the European Union will decide by July 20, whether to allow Google to complete its $2.1 billion bid for fitness trackers company Fitbit. Google sought EU approval on Monday, according to a filing on the European Commission website, Reuters reports.
ZDNet
Microsoft confirmed its Teams product will support 49 on-screen video participants and become available this month, with general availability by fall. In February, Microsoft Teams only supported four simultaneous onscreen participants. Then in May the service increased to nine. To compete with Google Meets and Zoom Microsoft Teams requires more support. Not having the ability to support more on-screen participants could eliminate the product from the market.
eMarketer
GlobalWebIndex survey from April reported 23% of internet users in France ages 16 to 64 said they expected to visit physical stores less frequently post-pandemic, and 27% planned to spend less time in-store. Some 15% of respondents said they would adopt click and collect, and 17% would shop more online for home delivery, according to eMarketer.
Google
Google has added a personalized ad policy to protect access to housing, employment and credit opportunities. It builds on a policy that already prohibited advertisers from targeting users on sensitive areas, categories related to identity, beliefs, sexuality or personal hardships such as race, religion, ethnicity or sexual orientation.
TechCrunch
Phone numbers of some of WhatApp users appeared in Google search results, but the company claims to have fixed the problem days after a researcher revealed users created a simplified link to allow others to chat with them or join a group. India-based researcher Athul Jayaram found the leak, calling it a privacy lapse, claiming as many as 300,000 phone numbers appeared in Google search results if someone looked up “site:wa.me”.
Axios
Amazon is suing Google for hiring Brian Hall, a former AWS marketing executive, to serve as a VP of marketing for Google Cloud. The company cites a non-compete clause in his contract.