Google Assistant also becomes instant translator: how it works

Google Assistant will have a new mode that will allow you to translate the dialogues of people who speak different languages. Also coming to Italy

Google is present at CES 2019 with a very large booth dedicated entirely to Google Assistant. For the Mountain View company, the voice assistant has become one of the most important tools of its business strategy: it is present in over a billion devices including smartphones, smart hubs, smart speakers and smart TVs.

During the keynote organized at CES 2019, Google also showed the new features of Google Assistant that will be released in the coming months. First and foremost is the new Google Assistant Connect platform that will allow hardware manufacturers to more easily integrate the voice assistant within their devices. In addition, Assistant is also expected to be integrated within new home appliances such as ovens, smart cookware, refrigerators, washing machines and sprinklers. The goal is to make Google Assistant the smart home hub of the future. The feature that, however, has captured the attention of insiders is "the mode Interpreter": Google Assistant will be able to instantly translate the dialogues of people who speak different languages. A real revolution in the world of instant translation.

How Google Assistant's instant translation works

Google showed a practical example of what the new "Interpreter" feature will be. If we need to talk to a colleague who doesn't know our language, we'll be able to interact via Google Home or Google Home Hub and ask the voice assistant "Hey Google, be my English interpreter," if, for example, our interlocutor is from Great Britain. Once the "Interpreter mode" is activated, each of our words will be instantly translated into English and "sent" to our interlocutor and his words will be translated into Italian.

For the moment, the feature is active only on Google Home and Google Home Hub, the two smart speakers of the Mountain View company. The Google Home Hub, in addition to vocally translating the words, will also show them on the screen.

The Google Assistant's Interpreter mode will be officially released in the coming weeks and will support 24 languages including Italian (as you can see from the cover image).

Where to use the Google Assistant's Interpreter feature

The Interpreter mode will have a great impact on very different realities. Already these days it's being used in major Las Vegas hotels to facilitate the work of receptionists, but in the future it may be used in airports and offices for international video calls (e.g. China, Japan, Middle Eastern countries). If the instant translation is really efficient, the Interpreter mode will be one of the most useful features developed in recent years.