The Google Pixel and Pixel XL have started to arrive in customers’ hands, with the exclusive new digital helper called Google Assistant.
The feature is meant to provide users with smarter, more conversational interactions than what “Okay, Google” was capable of providing.
And now Google just announced the virtual assistant will be able to connect itself with other smart devices around the house via IFTTT (If This Then That) channels.
What is the IFTTT you might wonder? It’s a web-based service that allows users to create and execute so-called “recipes” via the Assistant itself. Google says that the Assistant will be made to work natively with many services like Spotify or Philips Hue, right now the options are relatively limited.
But through IFTTT, users can use Google Assistant to execute a particular action like turning on a light bulb. For the time being the recipes available are not extremely advanced. Users can post on Facebook or Twitter via voice or change the color of the LIFX lightbulb.
The Assistant it’s still in its earliest stages of development and IFTTT integration does push it along the evolutionary chain, but there’s a lot of work still to be done. But users should expect good things to come in the near future.
[IFTTT]
