Google assistant’s new feature ‘Memory’ under testing phase
According to a few reports, Google is working on a new feature for Assistant called Memory, a combination of a to-do list, a notes app, a Pocket-like reading list, and a Pinterest-style collection board into a single overarching digital locker integrated into the broader Google Assistant app. The feature is currently in “dog food” testing for Google employees.
As reported by 9to5Google, Memory can save articles, books, contacts, events, flights, hotels, images, movies, music, notes, photos, places, playlists, products, recipes, reminders, restaurants, screenshots, shipments, TV shows, videos, and websites, in short, it can save a variety of content.
While the already existing Assistant’s Memory feature is used for saving information, the new version of Memory appears to be a major upgrade, one that seems to combine the “Collections” feature that came before it and be given top billing on the main menu bar alongside Assistant’s daily snapshot view.
The idea behind the update is that you’ll be able to save nearly anything and everything, including links or screenshots, pictures of objects or handwritten notes, or digital to-do lists or reminders. Memory will then let you search, sort, and revisit everything you’ve saved.
Memory will also include contextual information depending on what you’re saving, like a recipe, for instance, and it’ll show the cooking time. Save a movie you wish to watch, and it’ll include a link to the trailer. Also, Google-based items that you save (like Google Docs or uploaded Drive files) will get customized preview cards.
One way to store things to Memory is- users can use a Google Assistant command and the other way is to use the newly added home screen shortcut. Saved items can be tagged (with categories like “Important” or “Read Later”), sorted, or searched to find a specific item once added to Memory.
Memory is still undergoing the testing phase, and Google hasn’t announced any plans for when it will be or if at all available for the public. In a statement to The Verge, a Google spokesperson commented that they are constantly iterating and experimenting with new ways to improve the user experience, but have no further details to share at the moment.