Google’s New Takeout Trick

May 10th 2021

Snow

Author:

Arpitha Vinod

You’re a busy human with at least 2,375 different tasks to complete on your to-do list, and filling out food takeout online forms should not be one of them. That’s right, artificial intelligence powered assistants are at it again, finding more ways to make your life even easier.

As a result of the pandemic, there was a surge in online takeout orders for restaurants. This past year, 89% of all takeout orders were placed online , and about 61% of those orders were from restaurants that previously only offered sit-down dining. Many restaurants and businesses were forced to enter the online world for the first time, and this trend is only increasing and evolving . People wanted to support small and local businesses, and steer away from in-person dining as closed indoor places put individuals at a higher risk for catching the coronavirus.

Therefore, Google swooped in to make the whole mundane process of filling out online order forms quicker through Google Assistant . Google Assistant is Google’s AI powered virtual assistant that can be accessed through mobile devices and Google Home. Basically the Android version of Apple’s Siri, Google Assistant can help plan your day, play music, answer questions, partake in a two-way conversation, and even control your home. All you need to do is say, “Hey Google,” or press and hold the home button for Android devices. Some devices that Google Assistant work on include the Pixel 4XL and the Mi Mix 3 5G.

So, how exactly can you use this takeout trick ? First, you must go to the Google App and search for the restaurant you are ordering from and then select the Order Online button. After a couple of minutes of overthinking what food you will select, Google Assistant will dive right in and automatically fill out your contact and payment information . Google Assistant obtains this information from the stored data on Google Chrome and Google Pay.

Too good to be true? There are some catches however. First of all, this feature only works with the restaurants that Google has partnered with for online food ordering, and will only work for pickup orders, not deliveries. Furthermore, unfortunately for Apple stans, the feature is only available to Android users who use the Google App. Google is trying to get more restaurants to partner up with them, though.

Furthermore, Google Duplex is the tool that powers this specific feature. Duplex is part of Google Assistant and was launched in 2018, powering realistic two-way conversations between Duplex and a human. Duplex was shown participating in a conversation with a person at a hair salon with a voice so natural that the hair salonist did not even realize they were talking to the virtual assistant. Duplex even dropped a relaxed “mmmhmmm” and could understand the nuances of conversation . Duplex also powers other automatic form orders, such as for movie ticket and rental car purchases. Other new Google Assistant features that may be dropped soon are Google Home routines that are triggered automatically during sunrise or sunset.