CES 2019: Google Assistant and Amazon Carve Up Tech Expo

At CES, there's no shortage of gadgets to talk to. Smart TVs, cars, pianos - and even a toilet - these are just some examples of devices that come with voice-activated helpers.

No matter who makes the hardware, the virtual aide linked to or packaged inside is likely to be one of two: either Amazon's Alexa or Google Assistant.

For ShadeCraft, the maker of a new device that lets garden parasols be controlled by voice, Alexa was simply more straight-forward to build in.

"It was much easier and simpler to integrate," explains chief executive Armen Gharabegian. "But we have been testing Google voice as well."

It has been available for a few months now, but at CES Google just announced their equivalent tool with a strikingly similar name - Google Assistant Connect.

The virtual aide linked to or packaged inside is likely to be one of two: either Amazon's Alexa or Google Assistant. Photo credit: GettyImage, by BBC

However, any product using that chip will have to wirelessly connect to a Google smart device, which will process voice data.

Google Assistant, for example, tends to be better at answering queries about the wider world than Alexa. It also has exclusive access to some of the search firm's other products, letting users control Chromecast audio streams or display YouTube and Google Maps on devices with screens.

Alexa, by contrast, is more widely supported by third-party products and has more apps.

Another firm that thinks its customers may be best at deciding how to interact verbally with its devices is Sonos.

Source: BBC.com