Andre Yoskowitz
4 Mar 2012 12:53
Google has been working on a virtual assistant for the Android platform that will rival and surpass Apple's Siri companion, and speculation is the software will be launched in 2012.
The project had been codenamed "Majel" but now has a more official name, Google Assistant, says Crunch.
Google Assistant is said to surpass Siri in many ways, and Google will keep control of all the layers involved in the software.
Crunch's sources say the software will have these three parts:
1) Get the world's knowledge into a format a computer can understand.
2) Create a personalization layer - Experiments like Google +1 and Google+ are Google's way of gathering data on precisely how people interact with content.
3) Build a mobile, voice-centered "Do engine" ('Assistant') that's less about returning search results and more about accomplishing real-life goals.
Unlike Siri, Google Assistant will also be opened to developers. The sources say 2012 is Google's "year of the Assistant."