In addition to launching the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro, Google also announced a beta version of the Assistant with Bard program for both popular mobile operating system platforms.
Google says it’s combining Bard’s reasoning and creativity with the personalized help of the Virtual Assistant app. It includes an extension that helps Bard access Gmail, Google Drive, and Docs to provide answers to questions.
Google gives an example when the Assistant with Bard was asked about catching up on any important emails the user had missed this week. The reply from each message has a bullet point and a link to the original message. Users can also get the address of an event and view it on Google Maps.
This new assistant with built-in artificial intelligence (AI) can also help users perform actions. Google gave the case of a user who just took a photo of a pet and wanted to post it on social networks. Then just call the Assistant with Bard and ask them to write the content they need to post, Bard will use the image as a visual cue, context, and help for this operation.
From a user interface perspective, the virtual assistant with Bard will create an overlay above the user’s screen and wait for text, voice, or image input. Google sees this as a completely new way to interact with phones.
Currently, the assistant combined with Bard is in its first testing phase. Google promises to widely deploy for testing and receiving feedback, the official version is expected to be announced in the next few months on both Android and iOS platforms.