AI-powered voice assistants are gaining new feature additions at a steady pace. Google Home is today adding the feature to shop for items using the Google Assistant on Google Home. This will enable users to shop from retailers who support Google Express, such as Costco, Whole Foods, PetSmart and more than 50 other available retailers. It will provide same-day delivery in 12 U.S states.
Talking about the release, the official blog post reads,
To help you keep up with your busy schedule and shop for the things you need, we’re introducing shopping with your Google Assistant on Google Home.
Starting today, you can shop for your everyday essentials—from paper towels to vitamins.
The said functionality of ordering goods and grocery has been available on its rival Amazon Echo and its assistant Alexa from July last year. It has a shop-by-voice feature that allows you to say out the products and they are ordered. These are ordered from Amazon.com as it has a cohesive marketplace under their wing whereas Google doesn’t. Thus, it is making the ordering service available through its partners.
To order products, you can say commands like “Ok Google, how do I shop?” or “Ok Google, order a pack of Doritos,” when you are running out of this delicious treat. But, prior to ordering, you’ll have to set up a payment option by going into the Google Home app settings. You’ll then tap on “Payments” to enter your credit card and address details.
Now, you’re all set to start ordering using Google Assistant on Google Home. But, to bring to your notice, you won’t have to worry about additional service or membership fees when shopping via the smart speaker. Usually, there’s a minimum order amount and delivery fee associated with Google Express. The service remains free until April 30.
Our homes are slowly gaining thinking power due to the growing collection of smart connected devices. But, this altercation in our lifestyles is being led by smart home speakers — which make it easy for us to access info and perform tasks by just speaking out loud.
While Amazon Echo, which integrates Alexa, played an important hand in leading the smart speaker ecosystem, the recent debut of Google Home has also been infectious. The Google Home is powered by Google Assistant, which is the company’s AI-powered voice assistant capable of holding a conversation. This capability is currently being tested on Alexa, so Amazon has a lot of catching up to as well.
