When Google was founded, there were about 300 million people using the Internet. The vast majority of them were sitting at desktop computers and looking for answers that came in the form of blue links. Today, the Internet community is closer to 3 billion people, and you’re searching for all kinds of help everywhere — from your cars and your classrooms, to your homes, to the phones in your pockets. Across all these contexts and devices, there are even more questions to be asked, and more that we can do to help you get the answers you need.
From mobile first to AI-first
When I look at where computing is heading, I see how machine learning and artificial intelligence are unlocking capabilities that were unthinkable only a few years ago. This means that the power of the software — the “smarts” — really matter for hardware more than ever before. The last 10 years have been about building a world that is mobile-first, turning our phones into remote controls for our lives. But in the next 10 years, we will shift to a world that is AI-first, a world where computing becomes universally available — be it at home, at work, in the car, or on the go — and interacting with all of these surfaces becomes much more natural and intuitive, and above all, more intelligent.
This is why we built the Google Assistant, which allows you to have a natural conversation between you and Google. It’s one Assistant that’s ready to help you throughout your day. The first instance appeared in our new smart messaging app Google Allo to help you in group conversations. But that’s just the beginning. We want to help you get things done in your world, across different places, contexts and situations. And that means building the Google Assistant and other amazing software into the hardware that you depend on every day.
The best of Google
Today we announced a new family of hardware that’s a step toward making sure that no matter where you are, or what you’re doing, you can have the best of Google by your side. The Pixel is the first phone with the Google Assistant built in. With Google Home, our voice-activated speaker powered by the Google Assistant, just say “Ok Google” to get answers and help around the house. With Chromecast Ultra and Google Wifi, your home becomes even more connected. And our new Daydream View headset and controller lets you explore new worlds in virtual reality with just your phone. These all do different things, serve different purposes — but they all deliver Google, the way we intended it.
Great hardware is powered by great software. And a beautiful, intuitive device allows the underlying technology to shine. As the range of devices in our lives expands, we’re seeing unprecedented advances in software as a result of investing in technologies like search, machine learning and AI, which benefits things like translation, voice recognition, image recognition and natural language processing. It’s still early days, but when all of that works together, the Google Assistant allows you to get things done, bringing you the information you need, when you need it, wherever you are.
Of course, we know we can’t do it alone. We’re building with partners in mind, so when you talk to your Assistant, you’re able to better connect with developers, publishers, and businesses.
While we are at the beginning of this journey, I can already see the tremendous strides we’re making with machine learning and AI, which gives me confidence that we’re going to do some amazing things for users over the next 10 years.
