Google Assistant may be getting a new ‘Memory’ feature in the near future, and based on what’s been revealed so far, it has the potential to be one of Assistant’s best additions yet. It can be easy to lose track of everything the Google Assistant is capable of, and that’s because Google regularly adds new features and functionality. The Assistant can do simple things like look up the weather and check commute times, along with more powerful actions such as controlling smart home devices and creating automated routines.
One of the most basic features of the Google Assistant (or any virtual assistant) is the ability to create reminders. Unfortunately for Google, creating reminders with the Assistant isn’t exactly the best experience. It’s easy enough to set one up, but the functionality of reminders is pretty basic compared to some of the Assistant’s other abilities. Thanks to some new reporting, however, it looks like that might be changing.
While digging through files of the Google app on Android, 9to5Google discovered a new feature called ‘Memory.’ Memory is a new component of the Assistant that lives in its Android interface, and it looks like it could be the ultimate smartphone organizer. Per the screenshots of Memory that have been shared, the feature allows users to save things like articles, contacts, flight information, notes, reminders, TV shows, and a lot more all in one single place. Things can be added to Memory using a Google Assistant voice command, with the Assistant utilizing things like website URLs and a user’s current location to add more context to stuff that’s added.
Google Assistant Memory Organizes Reminders & Other Info Better Than Ever
As these things are added to Memory, they appear in a reverse-chronological list that users can view at any time. In addition to scrolling through the entire list, Memory also offers a search function and quick filtering tools like ‘Important’ and ‘Read later.’ Different items added to Memory will also come with their own shortcuts, such as being able to track a package that was added or watching a trailer for a movie. And, instead of reminders being added to Google Calendar, there’s a new message that confirms “reminders now get saved to Assistant Memory” — hopefully making them easier to find and harder to forget.
All of this sounds really impressive, and taking a look at the early screenshots of Memory, it looks to be a massive improvement over the way Assistant currently handles this type of information. Google Assistant’s Snapshot feature on Android does a good job of visualizing upcoming calendar appointments, current weather conditions, stock info, etc., and now with Memory, Google will have a place to showcase everything else that’s important to the user.
The biggest downside right now is that Memory isn’t available for people to actually use. Memory is in the ‘dogfood’ stage, which means Google is testing it out with its own employees. This means certain features of Memory are subject to change, there’s no clear ETA as to when it’ll publicly launch, and it’s entirely possible Google could scrap the project and decide not to ship it. That last point seems unlikely given how far along Google appears to be in Memory’s development, but the fact remains that it could be a while before Assistant Memory is ready for the masses. When it is, however, it could be one of the biggest and best Assistant features Android has ever seen.
