Whether we like it or not, Artificial Intelligence is growing at a rapid rate, and will soon become a part of our daily lives (if it’s not already).

We know that the Google Assistant can do more than just Google searches, and that it can complete specific actions and follow commands, like ‘please remind me to check my mail when I get to work’ or ‘please send my mom a WhatsApp message’. The Google Assistant is also very conversational, which allows us to interact with it in natural language.

Google announced a new technology for conducting natural conversations to complete real-world tasks over the phone – called Google Duplex. This technology will be able to complete specific tasks like calling to schedule an appointment, by having a regular telephonic conversation with the person on the other end of the call, allowing them to speak as they would to any other customer.

Duplex is constrained to closed domains (eg. specific fields or industries), which are narrow enough to explore extensively, allowing it to only carry out these natural conversations after being deeply trained in such domains. It cannot carry out general conversions… yet. It also handles complex statements and interruptions competently, maintaining that natural language.

Here’s another great example:

Why Should You Care?

Businesses that rely on telephonic appointment bookings can benefit from Duplex by allowing customers to seamlessly book through the Google Assistant, which means they don’t have to spend any time calling and negates the need for businesses have an online booking system. It can also remind customers about their appointments allowing them to easily cancel or reschedule appointments, which reduces the number of no-shows.

So instead of the customer calling your business to make an appointment, he or she will just interact with the Google Assistant, and the call will happen in the background.

Tags: artificial intelligence, digital marketing, google