Google expands personalized search for desktops and mobile
Are you still scrolling through your email just to locate the particulars of an airline reservation or an online purchase you made weeks ago? That's so 2012.
Google said Wednesday that most U.S.-based users of its search service soon will be able to retrieve useful information from their other Google services, such as Gmail or Calendar, by typing or speaking a conversational question such as "Is my flight on time?" or "Show me my purchases."
The Internet giant, which has been testing different aspects of the service for the past year, said it will start answering such conversational queries for most people in the United States who use the Google search app on an Apple or Android smartphone or tablet or a personal computer running Google's Chrome browser.
The move is part of a broader Google effort to develop useful services that can be operated through conversational, spoken commands - like the celebrated computer on "Star Trek." While Google may be further along than most of its competitors, Gartner analyst Whit Andrews said other tech companies, including startups and giants like Apple and Microsoft, are working on related services.
That makes it "not only necessary but strategic" for Google to expand its capabilities if it wants to keep dominating the search business, Andrews added. "Siri is the scariest thing Google has seen since Facebook," he said, referring to Apple's online personal assistant.
Google's new feature works by tapping other Google services for relevant data, including Calendar items or even photos from a Google+ account. It can retrieve airline information from a confirmation email saved in Gmail, and then get an updated flight status from the Internet. Anticipating privacy concerns, Google said a user can only get personal information from his or her own account, and only when signed in. Users can opt out of the service.
For now, the service works with five categories of information - flight information, hotel and restaurant reservations, online purchases, calendar events and photos - but Google spokeswoman Roya Soleimani said the company will add more. "We're focusing on daily tasks that make your life a little bit easier," she said.
Google already performs a similar function on mobile devices with its Google Now service, which anticipates needs and tries to show relevant information without being asked. It's offered personalized search service for desktop users who enrolled in a "field test" program last year. Google also has been improving the conversational prowess of its speech technology, available for Chrome users since May.
In a blog post, Google product manager Roy Livne said the service now can field variations on a question such as, "What are my plans for tomorrow?" and show a list of events from a person's calendar as well as email confirmations from hotels, restaurants or airlines.
Explore further:Google combines cloud storage for Gmail, Drive, Google+ services
©2013 San Jose Mercury News (San Jose, Calif.)Distributed by MCT Information Services
More from Physics Forums - Computers
Related Stories
Google combines cloud storage for Gmail, Drive, Google+ services
May 15, 2013
Cloud storage for three of Google's more popular services - Gmail, Google Drive and Google+ - are being combined to give users more control over how they want to use the storage space.
Undisclosed glitch disrupts Google Mail for two hours (Update)
Apr 17, 2013
Google suffered disruptions on several of its cloud-based services including Google Mail for about two hours Wednesday for reasons that were not disclosed.
Microsoft embraces a Google service for a change
May 14, 2013
Microsoft's disdain for Google doesn't extend to all of its rival's products. In a rare bit of cooperation, Microsoft's Outlook.com is giving users of its free email service the option of logging into Google Chat to exchange ...
Google releases tablet app for social network
Jun 27, 2012
Google's Plus social network will have its own app for tablet computers.
Google wants to start a conversation
Aug 07, 2013
Search engine companies like Google, Microsoft and, to a lesser extent, Apple are trying their best to get users to stop typing in queries and to start using their voices to ask more conversational questions to perform searches ...
Google appears poised to unveil new Nexus tablets
Jul 17, 2013
(AP)—Google appears to be getting ready to introduce the next generation of its Nexus tablets.
Recommended for you
Brazil weighs giving email same protection as mail
19 hours ago
Brazil's communications minister is proposing giving emails the same level of legal protection afforded to letters sent by mail.
Washington Post says website hacked by Syrian group (Update)
23 hours ago
The Washington Post said Thursday its website was hacked by the Syrian Electronic Army, becoming the latest media organization victimized by the group that backs strongman Bashar al-Assad.
Expert advises caution in online sharing
Aug 15, 2013
Seymour "Sy" Goodman, an expert on information security at Georgia Tech's Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, does not have a Facebook page.
Small businesses grapple with handling online image
Aug 15, 2013
Restaurants, mom-and-pop shops and other small businesses often face an abundance of frustrating complications during start-up - construction delays and supply shortages being among the top obstacles.
Microsoft restores Outlook.com service on the Web (Update)
Aug 15, 2013
Microsoft has fixed a problem that prevented some people from getting their email on Outlook.com.
New York Times website goes down (Update)
Aug 14, 2013
The New York Times' website went offline Wednesday, the result of a server problem, the company said.
User comments : 1
Adjust slider to filter visible comments by rank
Display comments: newest first
Stephen_Crowleynot rated yet1 hour ago
Is phys.org just a commercial advertising medium for technology companies now? You don't need google to search your desktop or mobile. There is free open-source software to do that. http://www.lesbon.../recoll/More news stories
New research suggests perovskite as cheaper replacement for silicon-based solar panels
(Phys.org) —Researchers at Oxford Photovoltaics and other companies investigating the use of perovskite—a crystalline organometal—as a replacement for silicon in photovoltaic cells have created prototypes ...
Microsoft India team develop secure Peer-to-Peer acoustic NFC system
(Phys.org) —A team of researchers at Microsoft India has developed an alternative to standard NFC communications between hand-held devices—a software only system that makes use of the speaker and microphone ...
New flow battery could enable cheaper, more efficient energy storage
MIT researchers have engineered a new rechargeable flow battery that doesn't rely on expensive membranes to generate and store electricity. The device, they say, may one day enable cheaper, large-scale energy ...
Intel developer event to discuss 1.6 Tbit/s MXC interconnect breakthrough
(Phys.org) —The word is out that Intel will present an entirely new optical interconnect technology for servers at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco next month. The MXC interconnect is capable of ...
New approach assembles big structures from small interlocking pieces
MIT researchers have developed a lightweight structure whose tiny blocks can be snapped together much like the bricks of a child's construction toy. The new material, the researchers say, could revolutionize ...
How DNA repair helps prevent cancer
The biological information that makes us unique is encoded in our DNA. DNA damage is a natural biological occurrence that happens every time cells divide and multiply. External factors such as overexposure ...
Female frogs prefer males who can multitask
From frogs to humans, selecting a mate is complicated. Females of many species judge suitors based on many indicators of health or parenting potential. But it can be difficult for males to produce multiple ...
Many stroke, heart-attack survivors make no changes after event
There's no stronger scare tactic into leading a healthy lifestyle than suffering a heart attack or stroke, which is why it may be surprising that many survivors don't make changes needed to improve their health.
Drug dosing for older heart patients should differ
Older heart patients present unique challenges for determining the optimal dosages of medications, so a new study from researchers at Duke Medicine offers some rare clarity about the use of drugs that are used to treat patients ...
Two Russian cosmonauts turn cable guys in spacewalk
Russian cosmonauts are taking a spacewalk to lay cable for a new lab that's due to arrive at the International Space Station in a few months.
© Phys.org™ 2003-2013
Are you still scrolling through your email just to locate the particulars of an airline reservation or an online purchase you made weeks ago? That's so 2012.
Google said Wednesday that most U.S.-based users of its search service soon will be able to retrieve useful information from their other Google services, such as Gmail or Calendar, by typing or speaking a conversational question such as "Is my flight on time?" or "Show me my purchases."
The Internet giant, which has been testing different aspects of the service for the past year, said it will start answering such conversational queries for most people in the United States who use the Google search app on an Apple or Android smartphone or tablet or a personal computer running Google's Chrome browser.
The move is part of a broader Google effort to develop useful services that can be operated through conversational, spoken commands - like the celebrated computer on "Star Trek." While Google may be further along than most of its competitors, Gartner analyst Whit Andrews said other tech companies, including startups and giants like Apple and Microsoft, are working on related services.
That makes it "not only necessary but strategic" for Google to expand its capabilities if it wants to keep dominating the search business, Andrews added. "Siri is the scariest thing Google has seen since Facebook," he said, referring to Apple's online personal assistant.
Google's new feature works by tapping other Google services for relevant data, including Calendar items or even photos from a Google+ account. It can retrieve airline information from a confirmation email saved in Gmail, and then get an updated flight status from the Internet. Anticipating privacy concerns, Google said a user can only get personal information from his or her own account, and only when signed in. Users can opt out of the service.
For now, the service works with five categories of information - flight information, hotel and restaurant reservations, online purchases, calendar events and photos - but Google spokeswoman Roya Soleimani said the company will add more. "We're focusing on daily tasks that make your life a little bit easier," she said.
Google already performs a similar function on mobile devices with its Google Now service, which anticipates needs and tries to show relevant information without being asked. It's offered personalized search service for desktop users who enrolled in a "field test" program last year. Google also has been improving the conversational prowess of its speech technology, available for Chrome users since May.
In a blog post, Google product manager Roy Livne said the service now can field variations on a question such as, "What are my plans for tomorrow?" and show a list of events from a person's calendar as well as email confirmations from hotels, restaurants or airlines.
Explore further:Google combines cloud storage for Gmail, Drive, Google+ services
©2013 San Jose Mercury News (San Jose, Calif.)Distributed by MCT Information Services
More from Physics Forums - Computers
Related Stories
Google combines cloud storage for Gmail, Drive, Google+ services
May 15, 2013
Cloud storage for three of Google's more popular services - Gmail, Google Drive and Google+ - are being combined to give users more control over how they want to use the storage space.
Undisclosed glitch disrupts Google Mail for two hours (Update)
Apr 17, 2013
Google suffered disruptions on several of its cloud-based services including Google Mail for about two hours Wednesday for reasons that were not disclosed.
Microsoft embraces a Google service for a change
May 14, 2013
Microsoft's disdain for Google doesn't extend to all of its rival's products. In a rare bit of cooperation, Microsoft's Outlook.com is giving users of its free email service the option of logging into Google Chat to exchange ...
Google releases tablet app for social network
Jun 27, 2012
Google's Plus social network will have its own app for tablet computers.
Google wants to start a conversation
Aug 07, 2013
Search engine companies like Google, Microsoft and, to a lesser extent, Apple are trying their best to get users to stop typing in queries and to start using their voices to ask more conversational questions to perform searches ...
Google appears poised to unveil new Nexus tablets
Jul 17, 2013
(AP)—Google appears to be getting ready to introduce the next generation of its Nexus tablets.
Recommended for you
Brazil weighs giving email same protection as mail
19 hours ago
Brazil's communications minister is proposing giving emails the same level of legal protection afforded to letters sent by mail.
Washington Post says website hacked by Syrian group (Update)
23 hours ago
The Washington Post said Thursday its website was hacked by the Syrian Electronic Army, becoming the latest media organization victimized by the group that backs strongman Bashar al-Assad.
Expert advises caution in online sharing
Aug 15, 2013
Seymour "Sy" Goodman, an expert on information security at Georgia Tech's Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, does not have a Facebook page.
Small businesses grapple with handling online image
Aug 15, 2013
Restaurants, mom-and-pop shops and other small businesses often face an abundance of frustrating complications during start-up - construction delays and supply shortages being among the top obstacles.
Microsoft restores Outlook.com service on the Web (Update)
Aug 15, 2013
Microsoft has fixed a problem that prevented some people from getting their email on Outlook.com.
New York Times website goes down (Update)
Aug 14, 2013
The New York Times' website went offline Wednesday, the result of a server problem, the company said.
User comments : 1
Adjust slider to filter visible comments by rank
Display comments: newest first
Stephen_Crowleynot rated yet1 hour ago
Is phys.org just a commercial advertising medium for technology companies now? You don't need google to search your desktop or mobile. There is free open-source software to do that.
http://www.lesbon.../recoll/More news stories
New research suggests perovskite as cheaper replacement for silicon-based solar panels
(Phys.org) —Researchers at Oxford Photovoltaics and other companies investigating the use of perovskite—a crystalline organometal—as a replacement for silicon in photovoltaic cells have created prototypes ...
Microsoft India team develop secure Peer-to-Peer acoustic NFC system
(Phys.org) —A team of researchers at Microsoft India has developed an alternative to standard NFC communications between hand-held devices—a software only system that makes use of the speaker and microphone ...
New flow battery could enable cheaper, more efficient energy storage
MIT researchers have engineered a new rechargeable flow battery that doesn't rely on expensive membranes to generate and store electricity. The device, they say, may one day enable cheaper, large-scale energy ...
Intel developer event to discuss 1.6 Tbit/s MXC interconnect breakthrough
(Phys.org) —The word is out that Intel will present an entirely new optical interconnect technology for servers at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco next month. The MXC interconnect is capable of ...
New approach assembles big structures from small interlocking pieces
MIT researchers have developed a lightweight structure whose tiny blocks can be snapped together much like the bricks of a child's construction toy. The new material, the researchers say, could revolutionize ...
How DNA repair helps prevent cancer
The biological information that makes us unique is encoded in our DNA. DNA damage is a natural biological occurrence that happens every time cells divide and multiply. External factors such as overexposure ...
Female frogs prefer males who can multitask
From frogs to humans, selecting a mate is complicated. Females of many species judge suitors based on many indicators of health or parenting potential. But it can be difficult for males to produce multiple ...
Many stroke, heart-attack survivors make no changes after event
There's no stronger scare tactic into leading a healthy lifestyle than suffering a heart attack or stroke, which is why it may be surprising that many survivors don't make changes needed to improve their health.
Drug dosing for older heart patients should differ
Older heart patients present unique challenges for determining the optimal dosages of medications, so a new study from researchers at Duke Medicine offers some rare clarity about the use of drugs that are used to treat patients ...
Two Russian cosmonauts turn cable guys in spacewalk
Russian cosmonauts are taking a spacewalk to lay cable for a new lab that's due to arrive at the International Space Station in a few months.
© Phys.org™ 2003-2013