Google I/O 2017: Google Assistant Gets Smarter With Payment API, App Directory, and More

Advertisement
By Sanket Vijayasarathy | Updated: 19 May 2017 15:09 IST
Highlights
  • Assistant will be able to send money to someone via the payment API
  • App directory gives you a look at all the apps that support Assistant
  • You will also be able to edit text inputs in Assistant
Google I/O 2017: Google Assistant Gets Smarter With Payment API, App Directory, and More

One of the biggest takeaways from the Google I/O 2017 developers conference has got to be improvements coming to the company's artificial intelligence Assistant. Google's keynote focused largely on AI and machine learning with Assistant at the centre of it all. We already know that Assistant s getting smarter by the year and is now also expanding its reach to include the iPhone. But there are a few more interesting new updates coming to Assistant that were not initially explicitly mentioned by the company.

Google announced at I/O that it's working on a PayPal-like payment API for desktop and mobile. Unlike Android Pay which is limited to Android devices, Google's new API will allow any app and website to use the payment credentials stored in your Google account. But the most interesting bit here is that Google Assistant will do the work for you. You can ask Assistant to send someone money, and Assistant will use the API to send the amount you mention.

IFTTT support for Assistant was added back in October that added more functionality for voice command on the Pixel and Google Home. Now, 9to5Google has noticed the native IFTTT integration in Pixel that lets you 'Teach your Assistant' to 'Do Something' or 'Say Something'. Essentially, the feature lets you input an 'Ok Google' command as well as the reply you wish Assistant gives you for that specific query.

New to Assistant is an app directory that will be found when you open up the Assistant UI. A new blue icon will be seen on the top left corner, opening which will get you the apps in categories which are Assistant-enabled. This directory feature is an easy way to find out which of the apps have Assistant integration and how you can work with it.

Advertisement

Photo Credit: Android Police

During the keynote, Google mentioned that Assistant will soon get a typing input wherein you'll be able to type and ask Assistant anything if you're too shy to speak out loud in public. But the typing feature has a lot more to it as well. Android Police reports that your text history in Assistant is fully editable. This means you can scroll up to see your past queries and even edit or delete them by long pressing on a particular question.

Advertisement

Meanwhile, Assistant also gets smarter through Google Home, which gets a number of new features including scheduling calendar appointments and creating reminders, making hands-free calls with Home, and adding visual responses from your Assistant on TVs with Chromecast, to name a few.

We discussed everything that was announced at Google I/O 2017 on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast. You can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts or RSS, or just hit the play button below to listen to this episode.

 

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Advertisement

Related Stories

Popular Mobile Brands
  1. Nothing Phone 3 Price, Colour Options Tipped Ahead of Global Debut
  2. Realme C71 With 6,300mAh Battery Goes Official: Price, Specifications
  3. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 Spotted on WPC Database With Qi2 Charging Support
  4. Google Pixel 10 Series Reportedly Set to Launch on August 20
  5. Vivo Y19s Pro With 6,000mAh Battery, 50-Megapixel Main Camera Launched
  6. Meta Aiming to Fully Automate Advertising With AI by 2026: Report
  7. Microsoft Bing Is Letting You Generate AI Videos Using Sora for Free
  8. Samsung Galaxy Ring 2 Said to Be in Development, but 2025 Launch Unlikely
  1. Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra Price in India Temporarily Cut by Rs. 12,000: Specifications, Features
  2. Elden Ring Nightreign Sells 3.5 Million Copies as FromSoftware Confirms Duos Mode Is on the Way
  3. Nothing Phone 3 Global Launch Date Set for July 1: Expected Specifications, Features
  4. Lava Storm Play 5G India Launch, Key Specifications Teased; Set to Debut Alongside Lava Storm Lite 5G
  5. Character.AI Unveils Video Generation Tool, Community Feed and Other Interactive Features
  6. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 Spotted on WPC Database With Qi 2 Charging Support Like the Galaxy S25 Series
  7. OnePlus Ace 6, OnePlus Ace 6 Pro Tipped to Debut With Snapdragon 8 Series Chips
  8. Vivo Y19s Pro With 6,000mAh Battery, 50-Megapixel Rear Camera Launched: Price, Features
  9. Samsung Galaxy Ring 2 Reportedly in Development, but 2025 Launch Unlikely
  10. Redmi Pad 2 Launch Date Announced; Confirmed to Feature 9,000mAh Battery
Gadgets 360 is available in
Download Our Apps
Available in Hindi
© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2025. All rights reserved.