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Tag: Google Assistant

  • Airtel launches Google Assistant based Digital Customer Care

    Airtel launches Google Assistant based Digital Customer Care

    MUMBAI: Airtel smartphone customers will now able to get instant resolution to their frequent account related queries through the Google Assistant.

    In yet another industry first, Airtel has collaborated with Google to truly simplify its customer service experience by integrating its customer care with the Artificial Intelligence-powered Google Assistant.

    This new cutting-edge feature will allow customers to have rich conversational experiences with Airtel. 

    These features are right now available in English but going forward, Airtel will roll it out in multiple regional languages  to help deliver an even more personalized  experience to millions of Indians and encourage them to get online. Similarly, Airtel will continue to track what questions customer are asking and enable responses  to them via Google Assistant, thus improving the flexibility and robustness of the Airtel voice Action.

    The initiative is a part of Project Next- Airtel's digital innovation program, which is aimed at transforming customer experience  across all of its services  and touch points. Airtel plans to launch several exciting digital innovations to step change the simplicity and interactivity of its customer experience.

    Sarang  Kanade, Director- Customer Service Delivery, Bharti Airtel said:  "As part of our digital transformation journey, this is another yet innovation to empower our customers. With smartphones fast becoming the norm for every Indian, this will make digital self-care much more interactive and step up the customer experience. We will continue to bring more of such exciting solutions for 'Digital India'."

    What service related question can Airtel customers ask the Google Assistant?

    How  can Airtel customers use the Google Assistant?
    1. Android Users – Long press the Home Button to launch Assistant. iOS Users – Ensure you have downloaded Google Assistant on your phone.
    2. Speak into Assistant- "Talk to Airtel", "Ask Airtel" or "Get Airtel". Airtel assistant will open within Google Assistant.
    3. TO get your account  details, for the first time, the Airtel assistant  will ask to link your Airtel account with Google.
    4. If you click yes, you will be asked to enter your Mobile number,  accept the Terms of Service.
    Once you accept  the Terms of service,  you will receive an OTP. Enter the OTP to complete linking your account.
    5. Get Started. Start asking your Airtel account  related questions.

  • Google Assistant becomes bilingual

    Google Assistant becomes bilingual

    MUMBAI: Google keeps dominating the tech scene across world with constant upgradation of its features. The tech giant has announced that it will now be able to understand and speak more than one language at a time.

    Users can now speak two languages interchangeably with the Assistant on smart speakers and phones. This move is a part of Google’s multi-year effort to make user-Assistant conversations more natural.

    “Currently, the Assistant can understand any pair of languages within English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, and Japanese. We’ll be expanding to more languages in the coming months,” the company said. It is also aiming to make Assistant trilingual in the future.

    In US market, Google’s Home speakers lag behind Amazon.com’s Echo speakers with roughly 27 percent of the market as compared with Amazon’s 41 percent. But according to analysts, the scene is different internationally as Amazon doesn’t have the same brand recognition outside of the United States.

    “We hope multilingual will encourage more use of the Assistant in bilingual homes, thus helping us continue to improve our training models,” Google  said as quoted by The Washington Post.

  • Global OTT subs to cross 265 mn by ’22: Park Associates

    Global OTT subs to cross 265 mn by ’22: Park Associates

    MUMBAI: The number of households worldwide with an OTT video service subscription will exceed 265 million by 2022. The popularity of over-the-top (OTT) video services, such as Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu has driven a steady increase in adoption of smart TVs and streaming media players since 2010, according to `Global Connected Living Outlook: Expanding IoT Momentum’ by Park Associates’.

    “Fifty-three percent of the US broadband households own a smart TV, and both smart TVs and streaming media players are continually improving the user experience to accommodate the shifting habits of consumers, including integration with voice-based digital assistant ecosystems,” said Kristen Hanich, Parks Associates’ research analyst.

    “The rise of these digital assistants is another key trend over the last few years, with Apple Siri, Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant, Microsoft Cortana, and Samsung Bixby, among others, now on the market. Both smart home and connected entertainment developers are working to integrate this functionality into their products,” Hanich was quoted in an official statement put out by Park Associates.

    The `Global Connected Living Outlook: Expanding IoT Momentum’ provides a comprehensive overview and assessment of the markets serving consumers’ connected lifestyle. The report identifies key trends and market developments in service categories, including broadband, television and video, digital content, residential security, home energy management, home support services, and connected health and wellness, as well as connected consumer product categories, including home networks, smart home devices, and connected consumer electronics.

    The report identifies key companies to watch in each product category and includes five-year forecasts for select product categories.

    The global study reveals that consumers now own an average of 8.6 connected CE products in their home, an 87 per cent growth in the average volume of devices since 2010. Some of the highlights of the report are the following:

    More than 70 per cent of the US broadband households have an internet-connected entertainment device.
    17 per cent own both a smart home device and an internet-connected entertainment device.
    Parks Associates estimates over 265 million households worldwide will have a total of more than 400 million OTT video service subscriptions by the end of 2022.

    “With IoT expansion comes added expectations of interoperability,” said Park Associates Research Quality & Product Development director Jennifer Kent, adding, “Consumers prioritize general device interoperability over staying within a specific brand ecosystem when considering a purchase; three-fourths of consumers find it important to consider any smart home product brand that will work with other products in their home and 49 per cent find this very important.”

    Also Read :

    Traditional pay TV under pressure from OTT services: Horowitz report 

    Regional OTT content more than just catch-up TV    

    OTT platforms discuss need for regulation

    Apple bags rights to novel ‘Shantaram’ for drama series

  • Take ‘Actions on Google’: partner’s Gupshup with enterprises

    Take ‘Actions on Google’: partner’s Gupshup with enterprises

    MUMBAI: Gupshup has partnered with Google to enable enterprises to quickly and easily build for ‘Actions on Google’, its development interface for the Google Assistant. Bot builders can now create and deploy bots or actions for the assistant using Gupshup’s cross-platform development tools.

    One of the early Google Assistant actions to come to Google Home is from VentureBeat, source of technology and chatbot news. Developed in coordination with Gupshup, the bot will be available to consumers later this month.

    Gupshup CEO Beerud Sheth opined that the bot landscape has grown exponentially in the past year. It has enabled the world where intelligent, conversational interfaces will soon be all around us. He expressed gratitude about being one of the first developer platforms to join Actions on Google.

    Google Home users launch the VentureBeat bot by saying “Ok Google, let me talk to VentureBeat,” and can then navigate the latest technology news stories and headlines from the comfort of their own home by interacting with the Google Assistant.

    Few more content providers will be available on Actions on Google soon.

    Gupshup is the first truly omni-channel bot development platform, offering developers and enterprises the ability to connect with consumers on their favorite messaging platforms, now including voice-assisted ecosystems such as Google Home.

  • Take ‘Actions on Google’: partner’s Gupshup with enterprises

    Take ‘Actions on Google’: partner’s Gupshup with enterprises

    MUMBAI: Gupshup has partnered with Google to enable enterprises to quickly and easily build for ‘Actions on Google’, its development interface for the Google Assistant. Bot builders can now create and deploy bots or actions for the assistant using Gupshup’s cross-platform development tools.

    One of the early Google Assistant actions to come to Google Home is from VentureBeat, source of technology and chatbot news. Developed in coordination with Gupshup, the bot will be available to consumers later this month.

    Gupshup CEO Beerud Sheth opined that the bot landscape has grown exponentially in the past year. It has enabled the world where intelligent, conversational interfaces will soon be all around us. He expressed gratitude about being one of the first developer platforms to join Actions on Google.

    Google Home users launch the VentureBeat bot by saying “Ok Google, let me talk to VentureBeat,” and can then navigate the latest technology news stories and headlines from the comfort of their own home by interacting with the Google Assistant.

    Few more content providers will be available on Actions on Google soon.

    Gupshup is the first truly omni-channel bot development platform, offering developers and enterprises the ability to connect with consumers on their favorite messaging platforms, now including voice-assisted ecosystems such as Google Home.