Google Now was a feature of

Google Search Google Search (also known simply as Google) is a search engine provided by Google. Handling more than 3.5 billion searches per day, it has a 92% share of the global search engine market. It is also the most-visited website in the world. The ...

of the

Google Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...

app for Android and

iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...

. Google Now proactively delivered information to users to predict (based on search habits and other factors) information they may need in the form of informational cards. Google Now branding is no longer used, but the functionality continues in the Google app and its discover tab. Google first included Google Now in Android 4.1 ("Jelly Bean"), which launched on July 9, 2012, and the

Galaxy Nexus The Galaxy Nexus (GT-I9250) is a touchscreen Android smartphone co-developed by Google and Samsung Electronics. It is the third smartphone in the Google Nexus series, a family of Android consumer devices built by an original equipment manufactu ...

smartphone was first to support it. The service became available for iOS on April 29, 2013, without most of its features. In 2014, Google added Now cards to the notification center in

ChromeOS ChromeOS, sometimes stylized as chromeOS and formerly styled as Chrome OS, is a Linux-based operating system designed by Google. It is derived from the open-source ChromiumOS and uses the Google Chrome web browser as its principal user interfac ...

and in the Chrome browser. Later, however, they removed the notification center entirely from Chrome. ''

Popular Science ''Popular Science'' (also known as ''PopSci'') is an American digital magazine carrying popular science content, which refers to articles for the general reader on science and technology subjects. ''Popular Science'' has won over 58 awards, incl ...

'' named Google Now the "Innovation of the Year" for 2012. Since 2015, Google gradually phased out reference to "Google Now" in the Google app, largely removing the remaining use of "Now" in October 2016, including replacing ''Now cards'' with ''Feed''. At

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2016, Google showcased its new intelligent personal assistant

Google Assistant Google Assistant is a virtual assistant software application developed by Google that is primarily available on mobile and home automation devices. Based on artificial intelligence, Google Assistant can engage in two-way conversations, unlike t ...

, in some ways an evolution of Google Now. Unlike Google Now, however, Assistant can engage in a two-way dialogue with the user.

History

In late 2011, reports surfaced that Google was enhancing its product

Google Voice Search Google Voice Search or Search by Voice is a Google product that allows users to use Google Search by Voice search, speaking on a mobile phone or computer, i.e. have the device search for data upon entering information on what to search into the ...

for the next version of Android. It was originally codenamed "Majel" after

Majel Barrett Majel Barrett-Roddenberry (; born Majel Leigh Hudec;
, ''

Gene Roddenberry Eugene Wesley Roddenberry Sr. (August 19, 1921 – October 24, 1991) was an American television screenwriter, producer, and creator of ''Star Trek: The Original Series'', its sequel spin-off series ''Star Trek: The Animated Series,'' and ''Sta ...

and the voice of computer systems in the ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...

'' franchise; it was also codenamed "assistant". On June 27, 2012, Google unveiled Google Now as part of the premier demonstration of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean at

2012. On October 29, 2012, Google Now received an update through the

Google Play Store Google Play, also known as the Google Play Store and formerly the Android Market, is a digital distribution service operated and developed by Google. It serves as the official app store for certified devices running on the Android operating sys ...

bringing the addition of Gmail cards. Google Now displays cards with information pulled from the user's Gmail account, such as flight information, package tracking information, hotel reservations and restaurant reservations (as long as the Gmail account is not a

Google Workspace Google Workspace (formerly known as Google Apps and later G Suite) is a collection of cloud computing, productivity and collaboration tools, software and products developed and marketed by Google. It consists of Gmail, Contacts, Calendar, Meet ...

account). Other additions were movies, concert, stock, and news cards based on the users' location and search history. Also included was the facility to create calendar events using voice input, for instance, "Make a new appointment for dinner with Steve next Thursday at 7 pm". On December 5, 2012, an update to the Google Search application brought several new features to Google Now, including cards for nearby events, searching by the camera when at a museum or shop, airplane boarding passes found from e-mail (

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

in the first instance, more airlines followed). In addition, Google Now would show cards for the weather for upcoming travel destinations, birthday reminders; and monthly summaries of biking and walking activities. New voice action features included with this update include the ability to post to

Google+ Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...

, song recognition capabilities, and the ability to scan bar codes. However, when the Search 2.5 update hit, Google removed the "Search With Camera" feature. On March 21, 2013, the Executive Chairman of Google, Eric Schmidt, stated that Google had submitted an

version of Google Now to Apple for review and that the app was awaiting approval, but he later said that this was not true after Apple denied this was the case. Despite this, on April 29, 2013, Google Now was made available for iOS in an update to the operating system's Google Search application. Based on Google Chrome code review on December 2012, Google Now was expected to be integrated into the desktop version of Google Chrome. According to Seth Rosenblatt of

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, it is rumored that Google Now will also serve as iGoogle's replacement in November 2013. On May 15, 2013, at Google I/O 2013, Google announced the upcoming release of Google Now on desktop platforms—the feature would be accessible only via Google Chrome or Google ChromeOS. On January 16, 2014, an alpha version of the Google Now was made available on desktop through the

Google Chrome Canary Google Chrome is a cross-platform web browser developed by Google. It was first released in 2008 for Microsoft Windows, built with free software components from Apple WebKit and Mozilla Firefox. Versions were later released for Linux, macOS, ...

release although this app lacks some of the cards available on mobile version of Google Now such as public alerts, nearby photos, activity summary and stocks. On March 24, 2014, Google started rolling out Google Now for Google Chrome users who are signed into their Google account on the browser.

Functionality

Google Now was implemented as an aspect of the

application. It recognized repeated actions that a user performs on the device (common locations, repeated calendar appointments, search queries, etc.) to display more relevant information to the user in the form of "cards". The system leveraged the

Google Knowledge Graph The Google Knowledge Graph is a knowledge base from which Google serves relevant information in an infobox beside its search results. This allows the user to see the answer in a glance. The data is generated automatically from a variety of so ...

project, a system used to assemble more detailed search results by analyzing their meaning and connections. Specialized cards currently comprise: In January 2015, Google introduced the ability for participating, installed third-party apps to generate cards; on launch, this included apps such as

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eBay eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became a ...

, ''

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'',

Pandora Radio Pandora is a subscription-based music streaming service owned by Sirius XM Holdings based in Oakland, California, United States. The service carries a focus on recommendations based on the "Music Genome Project" — a means of classifying indiv ...

and

Lyft Lyft, Inc. offers mobility as a service, ride-hailing, vehicles for hire, motorized scooters, a bicycle-sharing system, rental cars, and food delivery in the United States and select cities in Canada. Lyft sets fares, which vary using a dyn ...

among others.

Now on Tap

On Android 6.0 "Marshmallow", Google Now supported an additional feature known as ''Now On Tap'', which lets a user perform searches within the context of information currently displayed in an app. When a user activates the feature, by holding the "Home" button or using a voice command, the text content of the current screen is parsed for keywords and other information (names of people, television programs and films, etc.)—which then generate cards that display related information, suggestions, and actions. Users can also voice questions related to the subjects of these cards.

Reception

Scott Webster of

praised Google Now for its ability to remind users of events based on past location histories and check-ins, and further commended it for providing "information instantly in a clean, intuitive manner" without the user's requesting it. A review by Ryan Paul of

Ars Technica ''Ars Technica'' is a website covering news and opinions in technology, science, politics, and society, created by Ken Fisher and Jon Stokes in 1998. It publishes news, reviews, and guides on issues such as computer hardware and software, sci ...

claims that like most other voice activated apps, including

Siri Siri ( ) is a virtual assistant that is part of Apple Inc.'s iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, macOS, tvOS, and audioOS operating systems. It uses voice queries, gesture based control, focus-tracking and a natural-language user interface to answer questio ...

, voice recognition is a major issue, but notes that the ability to type queries provides users with alternatives. Some commentators noted that Google Now's predictive power reveals "exactly how much data and information Google actually has about sers'routines and daily lives." An October 2014 review on Android Central showed Google Now outperforming its competition, Siri and Cortana.Simon Sage (October 8, 2014)
(King of search) Google Now voice search edges out Siri and Cortana in comparison

Android Central Future plc is an international multimedia company established in the United Kingdom in 1985. The company has over 220 brands that span magazines, newsletters, websites, and events in fields such as video games, technology, films, music, photogr ...

References

External links