Google unveiled it’s latest AI technology this week at its annual conference and it stole the show.
The new feature, dubbed Google Duplex, makes calls to schedule appointments, such as dinner reservations, on the user’s behalf using natural speech that sounds exactly like a human voice.
The user simple interacts with Google Assistant through their mobile or smart home device and the call happens in the background without any user involvement.
The feature was demonstrated at the Google I/O 2018 conference, with Google Assistant asking Duplex to call a restaurant and make a reservation for four people.
While the call didn’t go exactly as planned, Duplex was able to overcome the confusion and the person on the other end had no idea she was speaking to robot.
Listen to the call here:
The new technology is designed to help users carry out “real world” tasks over the phone and aims to make the call as natural as possible by using words like “mhmm” and “um” to make it sound human-like.
Google says the technology can also be used to enquire about information that is not available online, such as hours of operation during a holiday. Duplex can then make that information available online with Google, reducing the number of calls a business would receive about the same enquiry.
The feature is still in the testing phase and will be rolled out in the near future.
Watch the full presentation of Google Duplex below:
