Google Assistant Reaches 500 Million Users, Gains Natural Reading and Smart TV Features
Google Assistant hits 500 million monthly active users and prepares to launch natural-sounding longform reading capabilities in 42 languages. The digital assistant is also expanding into turned-off smart televisions and gaining new privacy-focused voice commands.
Google Assistant now boasts 500 million monthly active users and prepares to introduce a highly natural, humanlike voice that reads articles and web pages aloud. By saying "Hey Google, read it," users trigger the assistant to read or translate text into 42 languages, a feature that begins with articles but potentially expands to reading emails in the future.
The digital assistant is also integrating directly into turned-off televisions from manufacturers like Hisense and TCL. Instead of acting as a visual smart display, the television functions exactly like a standard smart speaker for music or weather queries, only powering on the screen when a user specifically requests video content.
Additional upcoming features include Scheduled Actions to automate smart home devices at specific times, sticky notes for Nest smart displays, and enhanced privacy controls. Users now issue voice commands like "Hey Google, that wasn't for you" to delete mistaken recordings or ask if the assistant is listening to receive a direct link to privacy settings.