The first thought that crossed my mind when I tried out Google’s new “conversational search” functionality in the latest version of its desktop Chrome browser was Star Trek.
You don’t have to be a huge fan of the sci-fi TV series (and films) to remember the ways in which Captain Kirk (Picard, Janeway, etc) did search or asked a question. “Computer?” they’d start saying, and then speak.
That also reminds me of the rudimentary speech commands with the first-generation Kinect for the Xbox. You’d start voice-command interaction with that device by saying “Kinect?” and then tell the device what you wanted.
With Google’s conversational search, you don’t start with commands like those, you just ask a question at the Google search screen in your Chrome desktop browser.
This feature has been part of Google’s search functionality on mobile devices running Android and iOS for a while. The big difference, though, is using it on the desktop browser, the “computer speaks back to you.”
It’s actually very neat. Here’s a short video of a very quick and simple test I did, asking Google search, “How far is it from Wokingham to Hammersmith?”
Given the conversational way in which I asked the question, and my own accent, word-pronunciation and grammar usage, I was hugely impressed with the function’s ability to correctly – and very quickly – understand what I said. The voice answer was great, much better than the Max Headroom-style I might have expected.
My test is very simple. A clue to the real attraction of this new functionality for search lies in its description: conversational search. This is about asking a series of questions, each relating to the previous, like a developing conversation. I asked just one question. So what’s it like if you conduct a series, a conversation?
Danny Sullivan has a great detailed review of his experiences with doing precisely that, with impressive results.
Google conversational search isn’t perfect, far from it (and Google doesn’t claim it is). The new functionality had some teething troubles yesterday when it launched. And correctly recognizing every spoken word is nigh on impossible – look at the trouble we humans have.
But it’s a huge step forward.
- Read more commentary and opinion about Google’s conversational search.
18 responses to “Google conversational search is a bold leap forward”
@jangles Weird. Ive had conversational search for ages. It landed for me at least 2 months ago. I must have been a lab rat for Google.
@JimConnolly are you on the Chrome betas? It only works in the latest desktop Chrome browser released yesterday.
Google conversational search is a bold leap forward http://t.co/aDFKvlLGlD
Google conversational search is a bold leap forward http://t.co/ZGFgZQqvSS
RT @jangles: Google conversational search is a bold leap forward http://t.co/OvGAJBdVnr
@JimConnolly did it speak the search result to you? That’s the major thing along with the conversational aspect of it.
Google conversational search is a bold leap forward: http://t.co/pqzGWNtMu2 via @jangles > Watch the video and have a go..
Hugely impressed by what I’ve seen of this so far.
RT @jangles: Google conversational search is a bold leap forward http://t.co/aDFKvlLGlD
Paul Sutton agree, Paul, it’s very good. I think it will get even better over time in, eg, better interpreting accents, poor grammar, etc – basically, all the different ways each of us speaks. And can’t wait to see it roll out in many more languages.
Google conversational search is a bold leap forward http://t.co/gOq8ZTddb6
Big, big development > Google conversational search is a bold leap forward http://t.co/ZNKuSVcBsF via @jangles
Impressive Google conversational search. But hardly practical in an office environment – http://t.co/6Xv1qDr7HO
@Jangles: Google conversational search is a bold leap forward http://t.co/g7hHRdpZPu
Google conversational search is a bold leap forward: http://t.co/zbgrfnEeb2 via @jangles
RT @oursocialtimes: Google conversational search is a bold leap forward: http://t.co/F7CrNKnd9Q via @jangles #Socialmedia #Google
RT @oursocialtimes: Google conversational search is a bold leap forward: http://t.co/qwc3RDgplM via @jangles #Socialmedia #Google
HAL? Yes, Dave. – Google conversational search is a bold leap forward: http://t.co/u6EK9KR7lU via @jangles