[Opinion] After answering any question, Google Assistant should wait a few second for follow-up question.

Google's aim is to make assistant more conversational and make it feel natural, right? But having to say "Hey Google" for every question breaks that "I'm having a natural conversation" illusion. For example -

User: Hey Google.

Assistant: bloop

Me: What's the temperature outside?

Assistant: It's 32 degrees outside right now in Seattle.

User: Hey Google.

Assistant: bloop

User: Is it going to rain today?

Assistant: No, it doesn't look like it is.

User: Hey Google.

Assistant: bloop.

User: How about tomorrow?

Assistant: There's forecast for rain tomorrow evening in Seattle.

That's how it typically goes for most users. Granted, you don't necessarily need to wait for the bloop. You can ask your question immediately after without waiting. Two problem with that - 1) Most users don't know it. 2) Even if you know it, the bloop still happens and now it will happen while you are asking your question and that throws me off every time. For example, "Hey Google, what's the tem.. [bloop] ..uhh.. temperature outside?

Even if you disable the bloop in settings, you still have to say "Hey Google" before everything you say. That's not conversational. We don't say "Hey Sam" before everything we say to Sam while talking to him.

Instead, if GA waiting 2-4 seconds after answering any question, this would be so much more natural -

User: Hey Google.

Assistant: bloop

Me: What's the temperature outside?

Assistant: It's 32 degrees outside right now in Seattle.

User: Is it going to rain today?

Assistant: No, it doesn't look like it is.

User: How about tomorrow?

Assistant: There's forecast for rain tomorrow evening in Seattle.

I know you can combine two questions with "and". For example, "Hey Google, what's the temperature outside and is it going to rain today"? But that's more of a planned question. You have to plan ahead what questions you are going to ask and then form a syntax. That makes you overtly conscious that you are interacting with a machine and not having a natural conversation.

Thoughts?



Submitted December 27, 2017 at 03:56PM by iWizardB http://ift.tt/2CbI3Y7 http://ift.tt/eA8V8J

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