Google has announced that its AI-powered virtual assistant Google Assistant can now complete tasks online, like purchasing movie tickets on the web. Just ask the Assistant, 'Hey Google, what are the showtimes for [movie] in Phoenix this weekend,' or search for movie times from the Google app on Android. This capability uses Google’s Duplex technology that it showcased at Google I/O last year.
Once the Assistant has displayed the showtimes for a movie, you will have an option to select a theater and time that works best for you. Next you will have the option to ‘Buy tickets’ with the Assistant ‘from more than 70 cinemas and ticketing services, such as Fandango, MovieTickets.com, AMC, or MJR Theaters in the US, or ODEON in the UK. From there, the Assistant opens in Chrome to guide you through purchasing your ticket,’ Dana Ritter, Product Manager, said in a statement.
With Duplex on the web technology, the Assistant will be able to navigate the site and input your information, like payment information saved in Chrome. Using the Duplex technology, Google Assistant can already book restaurant reservations over the phone in the US. There is no confirmation on whether this feature has been extended in other parts of the world like India. Google, however, says that it will expand this feature to other tasks like car rentals.
In Google For India event in September, the company said that the Assistant will now support nine Indian languages -- Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Tamil Telugu, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, and Urdu -- and users will now be able to talk to the Assistant more naturally. Hindi speaking users just have to say, ‘Hey Google, talk to me in hindi,’ and the Assistant will start talking in Hindi. The feature can be accessed on all Android, Android Go and KaiOS devices.
