While Google is slowly populating its entire ecosystem with its digital assistant called, well, Google Assistant, it’s also important that they are able to bring more tools for developers in order to bring in more apps to the fold. They have now announced new features for app developers so that users can discover, interact, and re-engage with their apps through Google Assistant. This will be helpful not just for apps that want to have Google Assistant integration, but also for Google itself as they try to compete with the other voice-activated digital assistants that are out there in the market.
The app directory within Google Assistant will now have a “what’s new” and what’s trending section so that it will be easier for users to discover new apps that are part of the system. There are now also subcategories under the main ones and your app will be placed there according to your description and sample invocations. They also now have implicit discovery so that contextual queries from users can be connected to your app. Google Assistant will now also have a “For Families” badge for apps that are for all ages, specifically those that are in the Apps for Families program. You can also now build apps in Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and English.
To create a more interactive user experience, Assistant now has an API that will allow users to start out the query on a voice-activated speaker like Google Home and then pass it on to the smartphone that also supports Google Assistant. Developers can also now enable their apps to remember select information and preferences. You can also let your app respond with a “polite farewell message” when a user ends your conversation by cancelling whatever task it asked it to do. There is also now an updated AskforSignIn API where you can let users link their accounts at the most “appropriate” time.
So customers will keep coming back to your app, you can now enable them to sign up for a daily update whenever you have new or similar content. You will also now be able to launch push notifications for users who will allow you to. Developers will now have access to better analytics so you can see how users are interacting with your app. All of these new developer tools are now available for those wanting to run or are already running apps on Google Assistant.
SOURCE: Google
