Google announced this week the ability to open and search in Android apps using “Hey Google” for all Assistant-enabled Android phones.
The ability to do both could become a game changer for brands looking for ways to help consumers find their products and services, as well as make purchases using their voice.
The feature From Google will allow consumers to voice their request such as "Hey Google, search cozy blankets on Etsy,” and the app will open and search for options to serve up.
Google will enable the ability to search and serve up products, as well as to play music, post on social media sites, order food, pay back a friend, hail a ride, and more.
Consumers will interact with voice assistants on 8.4 billion devices by 2024, according to a study by Juniper Research.
About 30 of the top apps on available in English on Google Play are participating, with more coming in the future. Some of those available now include Nike Run Club, Spotify, MyFitnessPal, Mint, Discord, Walmart, Etsy, Snapchat, PayPal, Uber, and Twitter
The function is a major step in hands-free computing and voice assistance. Users can create custom shortcut phrases for the most common tasks. Instead of saying “Hey Google, tighten my shoes with Nike Adapt,” users can create a shortcut to just say, “Hey Google, lace it.”
Assistant integrations are made possible, in part, by App Actions, a developer tool that creates deep links between Android smartphone apps and Assistant. The technology takes users to the content in deep links that developers specify when building the feature into the app, according to some reports.
Integrating Assistant with an app, App Actions even allows users to buy stock on Etrade, and send money with PayPal.