According to the latest rumors, Google Assistant, thanks to a further enhancement of Google Duplex, could further improve its ability to make restaurant reservations. Google Duplex is a natural language processing technology that bases its operation on AI and aims to automate numerous actions that usually require forms of human interaction.
If, for example, the user wants to make a reservation at the hairdresser or reserve a table for a dinner, Duplex can do it for him, calling the place of interest and speaking for him, all while playing and conversing in a rather natural way.
Although not yet usable everywhere, Duplex is integrated into Google Assistant and, consequently, into Android devices. Recently, we also told you about the arrival of the restaurant reservation function on smart displays.
In light of what VentureBeat has seen, it seems that Big G is testing a new feature that allows users to add their name to a restaurant’s waiting list via Google Assistant’s Duplex. The feature landed on the device of a member of the VentureBeat team, who spotted it while searching for restaurants via Google Maps.
Among the search results, under the names of some restaurants, the source also saw a button Request to Join Waitlist. A tap on the key in question opened a window through which to indicate the number of people (Party size) and the waiting time (How long can you wait?) Where the restaurant had a waiting list (Choose your party size & wait time in case the restaurant has an open waitlist).
Once this information was entered and clicked on Continue, Google Assistant took care of calling the restaurant to add the name and telephone number associated with the Google account to the waiting list and, subsequently, sending text notifications to inform the restaurant. the user of the booking or not.
At present, this function seems to be part of an A/B test, therefore not yet subject to a large rollout, and, to a precise request for comment from the source, a spokesperson for Google has simply stated that new ones are continuously tested. functions for Duplex, but does not have a timeline for the release of specific functions for all users of Google Assistant.
