Nest Smart Displays To Get Google Duplex Support, Guest Mode Upgrade

Google Assistant has always revolved around voice interactions but Google was able to give it a face in the form of smart displays. Now falling under the Nest smart home brand, Google has provided some visual feedback to augment Google Assistant's capabilities in your house. Not all smart Assistant features are available yet on those smart displays, however, and one upcoming addition will make booking tables at restaurants a breeze. At least when Google Duplex does finally arrive on the Nest Hub Max and its kin.

Google Duplex is one of those astounding yet also frightening demonstrations of Google's AI prowess. It takes Google Assistant's helpfulness to a whole new level by calling restaurants and services and making reservations for you. The more impressive aspect of Duplex is how it is able to carry a conversation with a (presumably) human receptionist as if it were human itself.

Duplex has so far been available not only in limited markets and businesses but also only on phones. That makes sense considering most people still make calls using their phones. These days, however, smart speakers and smart displays also stand in for phones when at home and soon the latter will also be able to make reservations for you. You can either tell Google Assistant directly to make a reservation or tap on the "book a table" suggestion chip when viewing the details of a supported establishment.

Google Duplex on Nest smart displays is still marked as "Coming Soon" but one new feature that is already available enhances the Guest Mode experience. Assistant can now speak in French, Italian, German, Spanish, Japanese, and Korean to make guests feel welcome at your home. And you don't also have to worry since Guest Mode won't store their interactions or reveal personal results to others.

This is just one part of Google's push for new entertainment features across its platforms. At the top of that list is, of course, Stadia's upcoming arrival on Chromecast with Google TV, which heralds Stadia's to Android TV which it probably should have since day one.