With the release of Google’s Pixel and Pixel XL smartphones, Google Assistant can finally be put through its paces and users can see to what extent they can use the virtual assistant. Until now, Google had only advertised the core features of Assistant, such as opening apps, asking questions, creating notes and reminders, along with many other typical information-related queries or tasks. On the social media side of things, though, not much has been said about how it can help users interact and share content.
Now, though, thanks to one Google+ user, it’s been confirmed that Google Assistant can share open web articles directly to social media, specifically Twitter and Google+, at least for now anyway. When a user is reading a specific article on the web, they can bring up Google Assistant by saying “OK Google, share this on Google+/Twitter”. The assistant will then copy the article link, as well as it’s title and paste this into a tweet or a Google+ post ready to be shared. As of now, it appears the command only works with Google+ and Twitter, with Facebook or other Google apps such as Gmail and the Allo messenger not being compatible yet, though there is a high possibility that the internet giant will expand support for the function if it sees enough user engagement.
This recently discovered feature is only one of many yet to be discovered and one of the ever expanding list. As the internet giant collects user feedback, they are sure to bring a number of improvements to Assistant, as well as many new commands and features and it’s clear that the Google Pixel and Pixel XL will play a large part in this process. Google’s ultimate goal for the devices would be to compete on the scale of the iPhone 7 or Galaxy S7 Edge, which would help Google Assistant become an integral part of many people’s lives. As the devices only launched recently and are still part of a relatively unknown smartphone brand, it’s going to take some time for Assistant to be used on a scale similar to Siri, but if Google can achieve this, Google Assistant is sure to become part of the daily life of many consumers.