Electrolux is integrating Google Assistant into a wide variety of new kitchen products, the company announced Thursday, describing the move as the next step in its ever-evolving partnership with the Mountain View, California-based tech giant. The effort will initially be focused on Electrolux-made ovens sold in Europe, with Google Assistant features being scheduled to begin rolling out in early 2019, the Swedish conglomerate confirmed.
Electrolux originally embraced Google Assistant last year by integrating it into its Anova and Frigidaire product families in the United States. Today’s announcement marks the first expansion of that collaboration, though it’s presently unclear whether the two companies have any immediate plans to continue building on that ecosystem in the near future. While Electrolux is one of the earliest high-profile adopters of Google’s artificial intelligence companion, the company has still been embracing it in a relatively careful manner, presumably as its efforts to find an optimal balance between investments and customer experience improvements still haven’t been concluded. The addition of Google Assistant to Electrolux-made ovens and other kitchen products will allow users of the thereof to control and check up on them via their voice, i.e. by speaking to a compatible device such as a Google Home speaker or a contemporary Android smartphone.
Selecting the correct cooking program and temperature should also be easier with the inclusion of Google Assistant, with the AI companion being programmed to aid users in such tasks. Electrolux will be showcasing an experimental version of the upcoming functionality at the latest iteration of Berlin, Germany-based IFA that’s opening its doors to the public tomorrow. Google Assistant so far seems like one of the biggest winners of the trade show, with the AI solution enjoying newly announced support from manufacturers of kitchen appliances, headphones, speakers, and a wide variety of other consumer electronics. Electrolux is expected to list the exact oven models set to be updated with Google Assistant support in the coming months.