Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) has released its personal assistant service on the iPhone and iPad. The service is available in the Google Search app on Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s App Store. To access the service, users simply swipe up, and they’ll switch into the Google Now mode.
The iOS version of Google Now is similar to the version created for the Android operating system. According to ZDNet, it offers users information about the weather, updates to local sporting events, traffic information, appointments complete with directions and more.
Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) product manager Tamar Yehoshua told CNET that they believe Google Now provides more accurate information than Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s personal assistant service, Siri. She claims that the search giant can predict what users want to know before they even know they want to know it.
Yehoshua said it uses text to speech, the Knowledge Graph and the technology stack to combine voice recognition with predictive search. For example, Google Now’s predictive search uses the searcher’s calendar for clues on what kind of information he or she needs to know. Depending on where the user is going at the moment, it might show traffic information or tourism sites close to the user’s hotel.
She also said Google Now’s voice recognition software has shown a 15 to 35 percent improvement since the launch of Jelly Bean. In addition, it uses context in conversation to determine other details. For example, if a user asks, “How tall is Barack Obama?” and then follows it with the question, “And how tall is his wife,” Google Now should be able to understand that the user is trying to find out First Lady Michelle Obama’s height.
