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Voice Assistant

All articles tagged with #voice assistant

Google Home Speaker nails the hardware; Gemini for Home still a work in progress
tech14 days ago

Google Home Speaker nails the hardware; Gemini for Home still a work in progress

The Google Home Speaker delivers strong, stylish hardware with good sound for its size and features like Matter/Thread control, stereo pairing, and compatibility with a Google TV Streamer, though some features are paywalled and the power cable isn’t removable. Gemini for Home adds impressive conversational ability but remains slow and unreliable for routine smart‑home tasks, with memory issues and subscription gates, leaving it as a great speaker waiting for Gemini to catch up (Alexa Plus remains the more reliable smart‑home option today).

via The Verge|
#gemini-for-home#google#matter
Google Home and Gemini for Home Roll Out a Sweeping 20+ Update
technology22 days ago

Google Home and Gemini for Home Roll Out a Sweeping 20+ Update

Google rolled out a sweeping update to Google Home and Gemini for Home, delivering 20+ improvements that improve wake-word accuracy and conversation handling, reduce accidental activations, speed up alarms/timers/lists, boost media playback and search, expand Gemini to the whole family, enhance camera descriptions and familiar-face detection, and add better energy alerts and Matter switch support, along with assorted bug fixes and UI tweaks.

via Droid Life|
#gemini-for-home#google-home#smart-home
Alexa Faces Obsolescence as AI Giants Recast the Voice-Assistant Landscape
technology1 month ago

Alexa Faces Obsolescence as AI Giants Recast the Voice-Assistant Landscape

Alexa’s massive installed base isn’t enough to shield it from a shifting AI landscape: data-privacy concerns, aggressive upselling with Alexa+, and the rise of free or cheaper rivals (Gemini/Google/ChatGPT voice features) and open-source options are steering users toward other platforms, making Alexa’s relevance increasingly doubtful despite its long presence in the market.

via bgr.com|
#ai#privacy#smart-home
technology1 month ago

Auditory prompt injection quietly takes command of AI voice assistants

Security researchers demonstrated AudioHijack, a proof-of-concept that hides covert instructions inside audio—podcasts, music, videos, or Zoom calls—to secretly command AI voice assistants and transcribers to perform actions like web searches, file downloads, or data exfiltration without user awareness. The technique works via tiny, inaudible tweaks that humans hear as normal sound but that AI interprets as commands, and it was effective against 13 open-source audio AIs with 79–96% success in tests, with potential transfer to commercial systems like Microsoft Azure and Mistral AI. Countermeasures such as training or intent verification only partially mitigate the risk, underscoring security implications for enterprise and consumer deployments; Microsoft acknowledged safeguards exist in real deployments.

via Cybernews|
#adversarial-attacks#artificial-intelligence#auditory-prompt-injection
Alexa+ Rolls Out AI-Generated Podcasts With Dual Robot Hosts
technology1 month ago

Alexa+ Rolls Out AI-Generated Podcasts With Dual Robot Hosts

Amazon's Alexa+ now generates AI-powered podcasts featuring two robotic hosts, built from user-chosen topics and real-time reporting from major outlets (AP, Reuters, Washington Post, Time, Forbes, Politico, USA Today and 200+ local papers). The service outlines the episode, lets users adjust length and focus, and notifies you on Echo Show or the Alexa app when it’s ready. Alexa+ is free for Prime members in the U.S.; non-Prime customers pay $19.99/month. This marks a major push into AI-created audio content, following earlier experiments like Google’s NotebookLM.

via Variety|
#ai-podcasts#alexa#amazon
Grok Voice Think Fast 1.0 Debuts as a Fast, Multilingual, Multi-Tool AI Voice Agent
technology2 months ago

Grok Voice Think Fast 1.0 Debuts as a Fast, Multilingual, Multi-Tool AI Voice Agent

XAI announces grok-voice-think-fast-1.0, a flagship low-latency voice model designed for complex, multi-step workflows in customer support, sales, and enterprise apps. It collects and confirms structured data, orchestrates 28 tools across 25+ languages, and reasons in real time with no added latency for high-stakes interactions. Benchmarked at the top of the τ-voice leaderboard and deployed with Starlink for phone support and sales, it delivers strong autonomous resolution (about 70%) and conversion (about 20%) with minimal human intervention.

via xAI|
#grok-voice-think-fast-10#multilingual#multitool
Gemini for Google Home adds hands-free, context-aware conversations
technology2 months ago

Gemini for Google Home adds hands-free, context-aware conversations

Google's Gemini for Google Home launches in early access with Continued Conversation, letting you ask follow-ups without repeating 'Hey Google' and enabling contextual actions (like adding recipe ingredients to a grocery list). It also expands multilingual support and improves side-talk detection to better distinguish follow-ups from other conversations; early access is limited to those who signed up.

via Droid Life|
#continued-conversation#gemini#google-home
Alexa+ makes Echo smarter and more chatty in the UK
technology3 months ago

Alexa+ makes Echo smarter and more chatty in the UK

Amazon is rolling out Alexa+ in the UK, upgrading Alexa to be more conversational and proactive by following threads. The upgrade will be free for Prime members or £19.99/month; new Echo devices get it immediately, older devices must sign up online. The change aims to revive a stagnating Echo and compete with Google Gemini for Home. It could also give Amazon more user data for targeted ads, with UK usage already showing about 114 billion interactions since 2023 (roughly 1,500 interactions per person).

via BBC|
#ai#alexa#amazon
Google Home Gets Major Gemini Upgrades and Nest Lock General Availability
technology4 months ago

Google Home Gets Major Gemini Upgrades and Nest Lock General Availability

Google is rolling out updates to the Google Home app that add new automation starters and conditions, expand Nest x Yale Lock features to general availability (history, notifications, battery status, passcodes, and guest access), and upgrade Gemini for Home with improved device targeting, better device categorization, more reliable notes/reminders/calendars/timers/alarms responses, enhanced conversation flow, and a premium Live Search for camera streams.

via Droid Life|
#gemini-for-home#google-home#nest-x-yale-lock
Samsung's Bixby 8.5 Beta Brings Natural Conversation and Real-Time Web to Galaxy
technology4 months ago

Samsung's Bixby 8.5 Beta Brings Natural Conversation and Real-Time Web to Galaxy

Samsung unveiled a beta of Bixby in One UI 8.5 that functions as a conversational device agent, enabling natural-language control of Galaxy devices and embedded live web search within Bixby’s interface, with examples like keeping the screen on and directly adjusting settings; availability is in select markets (Germany, India, Korea, Poland, the UK, and the US) with broader expansion planned, and language/support details plus privacy considerations apply.

via samsung.com|
#ai#bixby#one-ui-85
Unlocking Alexa: 16 practical ways to automate your home today
technology5 months ago

Unlocking Alexa: 16 practical ways to automate your home today

The article presents 16 practical uses for Alexa in the home, from lighting and multi-room routines to finding a lost phone, using Echo devices as a landline, prompting kids, tracking packages, and acting as an intercom or white-noise machine. It highlights how routines can streamline daily tasks, support busy families, and even assist with emergencies. While many features work without subscriptions, some enhancements (like Alexa Emergency Assist and certain Kids+ options) require paid plans.

via ZDNET|
#alexa#home-automation#routines