Google Assistant has been constantly adding more features to ensure that it can fulfill almost every need of its users. Today, Google announced that it will roll out a new feature to its personal assistant this week to allow you to book a ride using your voice.
With the new feature, you will be able to select from a wide variety of ride-hailing services including Uber, Lyft, Grab, and Ola using your Android device, iPhone, Google Home or any Assistant-enabled smart speaker. It will likewise supply details about estimated costs and wait times for each ride service so that you may compare the pricing.
It is also possible to specify a ride by mentioning the provider’s name in your command. But you will still need to open your device to tap on the service of your choice and validate the booking. This feature will be rolled out first in English and in territories where Google"s affiliate ride services are doing business, with plans to bring support for more languages in the future.
It is, perhaps, important to note that Uber introduced the ability to book a ride with Cortana when the Universal Windows Platform-based app launched on Windows 10 Mobile and PCs in 2015. However, that capability did not include support for iOS and Android devices nor was Cortana expanded to other ride services.