Google Launches Major Visual Redesign of its Assistant Experience on Phones

Google has today unveiled a major visual redesign of its Assistant on phones and has added more and larger visuals to improve the overall Assistant experience, TechCrunch is reporting. Additionally, Google has also announced a number of new features for developers.

Users now have controls and sliders to manage their smart home devices, including sliders to dim their lights and controls for managing the volume of their smart speakers. The redesign is going live on both iOS and Android starting today.

“While you could already bring up a list of upcoming appointments, commute info, recent orders and other information about your day from the Assistant, that feature was hidden behind a rather odd icon that many users surely ignored. Now, after you’ve long-pressed the home button on your Android phone, you can swipe up to get that same experience.” 

Meanwhile, Google is now allowing developers to build their own visual Assistant experiences. The company is calling these “rich responses” and is providing developers with a set of pre-made visual components which they can easily use to extend their Assistant actions.

Furthermore, Google is also making it easier for developers to take their user’s money. While they could previously sell physical goods through their Assistant actions, they’ll now also be able to sell digital goods, starting today.

Starbucks has already integrated this feature into its Assistant experience to give users access to their rewards account, a move that has reportedly doubled its conversion rate.