Search engine giant Google has made huge strides in terms technological advancement in terms of deep learning and machine learning to make its Google Assistant for smartphones and speakers. It has made phone usage more convenient than ever before as users need not type to search on the browser; just a voice command preceded by 'Hey Google' is enough to get your desired results on the screen.
Now, the company, which is attending the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2019 in Las Vegas, has announced to bring Google Assistant to Google Maps for both Android and iOS phones.
"Starting to roll out today, the Assistant can help you navigate in Google Maps for Android and iOS. With just your voice, you'll be able to share your ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival) with friends and family, reply to text messages, play music and podcasts, search for places along your route, add a new stop and auto-punctuate your message," the company said in a statement.
For Android, Google Assistant will also work on SMS, WhatsApp, Messenger, Hangouts, Viber, Telegram, Android Messages and more.
Once you have updated your Google Maps, Just say "Hey Google, take me home," to open Google Maps and get help from your Assistant on your journey. The Assistant will help you calculate your ETA from Google Maps and send the details to friends using any of the aforementioned messenger apps.
The company also announced that future update to the Google Assistant will enable consumers to do flight check-in with just voice commands. It will be initially available for domestic flights with United Airlines in the US. It will be made available to other flight companies and also global regions in coming months.
The consumers can also save and retrieve boarding pass, all with the Google Assistant on Android or iOS. You just need to say, "Hey Google, check in to my flight"— all will be taken care of. There's no need for you remember the confirmation Passenger Name Record (PNR) number.
Also, the Assistant will also intuitively notify you when the flight is ready for check-in.
"And if you know where you want to stay, you can book a room using the Google Assistant with partners like Choice Hotels, AccorHotels, InterContinental Hotels Group, Priceline, Expedia, Mirai and Travelclick - an Amadeus company. We're also adding support for Google Keep, Any.do, Bring! and Todoist, when you want to keep track of your itinerary with notes and lists in the Google Assistant," Google said.
In a related development, Google has added a messaging option on Maps for users to communicate with business establishments. This is a well-thought initiative, as this will allow consumers to contact local enterprises for small queries, which not only saves time for the latter but also text proof for the former when they visit the place to make the purchase. Or, in the case of a restaurant, they can get reservation booking details.
