What Happened
Recode reports that Google has assembled a secret product team to build a hardware device similar to the Amazon Echo that integrates Google’s search and voice assistant technology. The project is internally code-named “Chirp” and is expected to be announced at next week’s Google I/O developer conference and ready for launch later this year.
Why Brands Should Care
Amazon released Echo to much surprise in November 2014. Since then, the smart speaker with built-in personal assistant Alexa has been gaining momentum, moving an estimated 3 million units and ushering in a new era of conversational interfaces in consumer gadgets. Now with Google building a similar product, it seems likely that this type of connected device with voice-control is going to further infiltrate the consumer market.
For more information on how brands can navigate the new rules of discovery and other challenges presented by conversational platforms, check out the Conversational Interfaces section in our Outlook 2016.
Source: Recode