Google has added several new features to its digital assistant over the last few years. According to XDA Developers, the company might soon allow its users to pay for gas using the Google Assistant. The feature is revealed by a string of code that appeared within the latest version (v11.33.5.29) of the Google app.
However, there is no official confirmation from Google yet. As seen previously, not all features revealed through APK teardowns will make it to the public release. Apart from just asking Google Assistant, users can also do the same task with the At A Glance widget available on all Android smartphones.
Google Assistant might soon allow its users to pay for gas through a voice command
The widget will show “At [station name]” when arrived at a gas station. Users can then tap the widget to pay for the gas through the Google Pay app. Mostly, Google might partner with multiple gas station brands to offer its consumers more choices.
At the CES 2020 event held in January this year, Amazon announced a similar feature which works with Alexa. It was officially launched just last month and works at more than 11,500 Exxon and Mobil stations across the US. It works directly with the Alexa-enabled vehicle without needing any additional setup.
Amazon’s Alexa already introduced the same feature in the US
Others can also take advantage of this feature by using an Echo Auto device or the Alexa app installed on their smartphone. When asked to pay for gas, Alexa will confirm the gas station name and asks for a particular pump number to activate. After filling the car, the payment will debit automatically through their default payment option.
Compared to Google Assistant, it is very rare to find cars with built-in Alexa support. It’s because Android Auto uses Google Assistant as its voice assistant by default. On the other hand, Amazon is working hard to bring Alexa to more vehicles.
It recently updated its smartphone app to offer Alexa Auto mode to enhance the in-vehicle Alexa experience. Another new feature that appeared in the code is the ability to play calming sounds through Google Assistant. Google recently added a similar feature with the latest update to its Google Assistant-enabled smart displays.
To date, the company hasn’t mentioned any details about these new features. Since Amazon has already rolled out the pay for gas feature in the US, Google might also introduce it in the next few weeks.