Between the always-listening Moto X and the promise of conversational search, it’s pretty clear that Google’s ultimate goal is to become your very own, sci-fi, voice-controlled personal assistant. And the new features Google’s adding to search are bringing us even closer.
Google has slowly been incorporating more and more of your personal information from Gmail, Google+ and calendar into search, but now it is letting you ask for that info explicitly. With new features rolling out to tablet, phone and desktop voice search, you can now just ask Google “Wait, when’s my flight?”, and it will tell you.
The Official Google Blog lays out some of the best use-cases:
Flights: Ask Google “Is my flight on time?” to get info on your upcoming flights and live status on your current flights.
Reservations: Ask for “my reservations” to see your dining plans or “my hotel” to get your hotel name and address. With one tap, you can get driving or public transit directions straight there, saving you lots of steps.
Purchases: Ask for “my purchases” and you’ll get the status of your current orders, so you know whether your mum’s birthday present will arrive on time.
Plans: Ask Google “What are my plans for tomorrow?” to see a summary of upcoming flights, hotels, restaurant reservations and events — very useful when you’re travelling.
Photos: Say “Show me my photos from Thailand” to see the photos you uploaded to Google+. You can also ask for “my photos of sunsets” if you want to show off the shots you’ve taken over the year; Google will try to automatically recognise the type of photo you’re asking for.
The functionality is rolling out slowly over the next couple of days, and only to US-based, English-speaking users at first. We’re still waiting on being able to just say “OK, Google” to computers, but until then we have a little more to ask after clicking.
It looks like Google 9000 is on the way, just hopefully without the homicide. [The Official Google Blog]