Google's New Products Reflect Push Into Machine Learning -- Update

By Jack Nicas 

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. -- Google is betting it can outsmart rivals on new products -- from virtual assistants to messaging apps -- with advances in artificial intelligence, technology that helps computers make decisions rather than follow instructions.

The Alphabet Inc. unit touted new software set for release later this year, dubbed Google assistant, that will answer users' questions and complete tasks, like pulling up movie reviews or making a dinner reservation.

To Google, a unit of Alphabet Inc., its new assistant is the next iteration of search, part of an effort to further entrench itself in users' daily lives by answering users' queries directly rather than pointing them to other sources.

Many of the offerings Google touted Wednesday follow similar products made by rivals: Google Home, a voice-controlled device that resembles an air freshener, follows Amazon.com Inc.'s Echo. Allo, a new messaging app incorporating artificial intelligence, must compete against Facebook Inc.'s popular Messenger and WhatsApp messaging apps, plus Snapchat and others. Apple Inc. has improved its Siri virtual assistant that comes with each iPhone, while Amazon, Facebook and Microsoft Corp. have their own offerings.

"The technology looks good in principle, but there's a significant risk that Google is coming into some of these markets too late to make a difference," said Jan Dawson, chief analyst at Jackdaw Research.

In a two-hour presentation at an outdoor concert venue adjacent to its headquarters here, Google said it would use artificial intelligence to parse questions and their context. If a user asks, "Who built this?" while standing next to the statue of David in Florence, the assistant will know to answer "Michelangelo." Google assistant will also learn users' preferences to predict what they want.

"We want users to have an ongoing two-way dialogue with Google," Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai said during his first keynote as CEO at the company's annual developers' conference. "We think of it as building each user their own individual Google."

Mr. Pichai's keynote at the conference centered on artificial intelligence. Tech executives and engineers say enabling software to reason and to learn new skills promises to unlock new applications that otherwise wouldn't have been possible by simply programming computers with instructions.

For example, Google said it would incorporate the assistant technology into Allo, a new messaging app it hopes can help it catch rivals in a field where it has long trailed. Allo will use artificial intelligence to analyze text messages and photos to suggest replies, such as "Looks delicious!" when a friend sends a photo of her breakfast. Through Allo, users will also be able to request services, like booking movie tickets -- Google's own version of the automated "chatbots" that are becoming popular in other messaging apps, including Facebook's.

Researchers increasingly use one branch of artificial intelligence, called machine learning, to enable computers to "teach" themselves new skills by reviewing huge data sets. The techniques are used to enable computers to understand speech and interpret the meaning of users' queries and commands.

Last year, machine learning helped computers recognize images more accurately than humans for the first time. More recently, Mr. Pichai said Google's software had learned how to recognize eye disease in scans. "I believe we are at a seminal moment," Mr. Pichai said. "Things previously thought to be impossible may in fact be possible."

Some analysts aren't convinced that artificial intelligence is yet smart enough to work consistently for consumers. Google's demonstrations on Wednesday "were impressive in that they showcased technological feats, but [they] showed scenarios that appear simple," said Forrester Research analyst Julie Ask. "We haven't yet seen the true breakthrough experiences that...will make conversation- or bot-based services a consumer preference over individual apps."

Google also announced new virtual-reality software called Daydream, which it said will allow developers to build virtual-reality apps and experiences that will work on a variety of VR headsets. Google is also giving manufacturers reference designs for virtual-reality headsets and controllers, and people familiar with the company say it plans to build its own virtual-reality headsets, too.

That strategy mimics Google's approach with its Android mobile-operating system that powers the vast majority of the world's smartphones. As with Android, Google is instructing headset makers how to configure their devices to support Daydream. The approach will again put Google front and center in an emerging technology, as Android did with mobile.

Google also provided more detail about its coming version of Android, which still lacks a name, saying it has more than 250 new features. Some updates include enhanced security, a split-screen mode and the ability to change emojis skin color. Many changes will be focused on making Android perform faster across a wide range of phones.

--Nathan Olivarez-Giles contributed to this article.

Write to Jack Nicas at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 18, 2016 18:37 ET (22:37 GMT)

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