I/O 2013: Google previews conversational search experience in Chrome on desktop

The first day of the Google I/O 2013 event last night saw a host of announcements being made. Among other things, Google shared in a blog post with its audience, its progress in building the search engine of the future and previewed what the conversational experience will look like in Chrome on desktops and laptops.

Users can already tap a mic, talk to Google and get back responses on their Android, iPhone and iPads. On the desktop though, Google Senior Vice President Amit Singhal said that users will soon be able to just speak their queries out with a "OK Google" and get a spoken answer. And no, you're not the only one to be reminded of Glass here; Glass too requires the user to say "OK Google", to wake up the device. 

Reminders at the right time

Improvements were also doled out to Google's Knowledge Graph. It has been expanded to make search smarter in other languages. Users can now get better answers from Knowledge Graph if they speak Polish, Turkish, and Traditional and Simplified Chinese. Knowledge Graph will also provide better answers. Suppose you want to know the population of a specific country, not only will Google give you the answer, but will also answer the next few follow-up questions that would commonly be asked.

New reminders have found their way into Google Now. It allows users to save things to remember later, and even pick a time or place to trigger reminders - so they show up at the right time. "Because a note to buy milk, paper towels and food for the dog, is a lot more helpful when you’re actually at the grocery store. Or if you’re about to miss the last train home, Google Now can remind you that you better leave. And if you’re interested in an upcoming book or there’s a new album you’re excited to listen to, Google Now will shoot you a reminder when it comes out, and even provide a recommendation," the post explains. Interestingly, users can create some of these reminders with their voice.