What is Google Now on Android and how does it work? What the Google Now assistant can do and why you need it.

is a predictive search tool from Google Inc, implemented in the Google Search application. Google Now is a personal search engine that processes voice and text requests, providing information taking into account personal preferences, movement history, search queries and visited pages, current GPS coordinates, personal information from the calendar, Email, communication in in social networks. Based on this data, Google Now not only responds to requests, but also anticipates them.

The development company determines the strategy of its search project like this: Google Now finds for you necessary information, even before you asked the question. This predictive approach immediately made it the “Innovation of the Year” according to the scientific magazine Popular Science, from the moment the application was released in 2012. Since then, the promise of Google Now has become even more obvious. Possibilities similar system Personalized search options seem virtually unlimited.

Technical capabilities of Google Now

Google Now is currently available on smartphones (iOS and Android), Chromebooks and Chrome browser on computers.

The search widget is located on the start screen. For the user, the results of such a search are displayed in the form "cards"(cards). There are ten of them, but their number is planned to increase. The developers have already announced seventy new cards that will appear in the near future. The user can customize cards to suit their needs and delete unnecessary ones. The cards display the following information:

• Weather
  
  • in the area of ​​home, work
    
• Traffic
  
  • "it's time to leave" notice
    
  • travel itinerary based on current location user and his movement history
    
• Public transport
  
  • schedule of buses, trams and metro trains when approaching a stop public transport
    
• Next meeting
  
  • "it's time to leave" notice
    
  • route
    
  • travel time calculation
    
• Flights
  
  • displays schedule, flight status and weather
    
• Sport
  
  • match results in live for sports teams from search history
    
• Places
  
  • information about nearby bars, restaurants and other places of entertainment, based on the user’s location, search history and movement history
    
• Translation
  
• Currency
  
  • displayed if the user is in another country
    
• Time at home
  
  • displayed if the user is in a different time zone

New cards coming soon include car rental, playlist selection, news, restaurant bill payment, and more.

In addition to the main cards, Google Now displays a variety of information that it considers necessary for the user: reminders of friends’ birthdays, messages about traffic congestion on regular routes. When ordering cinema or theater tickets online, Google Now will remind you of them and warn you when to leave, taking into account traffic data. If the user was looking for a product online, he will be shown where it is sold nearby, with an indication of the price. It’s easy to remove the card if it’s not needed: Google Now will understand that the user is no longer interested in it.

The application understands voice commands, now in Russian. To do this, just say “OK, Google” and request information or give a command, for example, about a reminder or about turning on an alarm. The longer you use Google Now, the smarter it will become, adapting to the user - especially if the user has an orderly, predictable life.

Google Now and privacy

One of the functions of the application is the ability to broadcast your location to certain users from Google+ so they can follow the route. Since this is done voluntarily, it does not raise any questions. Another thing is the excessive awareness of Google Now, which can be regarded as an invasion of privacy.

So, one of the userstried it in action Google Now was amazed that the search engine accurately identified his place of residence in just three days, despite the fact that no search queries were entered into Google at all and the address was not indicated anywhere. In fact, the application simply counted the time spent at a certain point. And, noticing that the person was in these coordinates for several nights in a row, Google Now “guessed” that this was his home. If someone arranges a meeting in a certain cafe in personal correspondence, you shouldn’t be surprised if a “smart” search engine tells you when a cafe of this chain will be nearby.

There are no secrets for Google Now electronic life user. The search engine freely searches for data in his mail, social networks, and movement history. Thus, another layer of information about users is now stored on the servers of Internet giants.

Google says the company's goal is to "organize all the world's information and make it accessible and useful." However, not everyone wants their information to be publicly available. personal information. In addition, it is sometimes scary to see how a computer reads thoughts, giving an answer to a question that has not yet been properly formulated. Whether the existence of services such as Google Now will negatively affect a person’s consciousness, his ability to think and make decisions is an open question.

But the usefulness and convenience of predictive search increasingly outweigh concerns, and Google Now is gradually growing in popularity among users.

Google Now and similar services

Over time they become obvious advantages Google Now compared to services that are considered its competitors: Siri And Cortana.

Stone Temple Consulting (STC) recently published a study that compared responses to 3,086 queries posed to these three search engines: Google Now, Siri and Cortana. Google Now turned out to be undisputed winner, V 58% cases by issuing the most accurate and full information. Moreover, this concerned both specific, factual issues and the most general ones. But the most important thing: if Cortana still demonstrates some predictive abilities, then in Siri they are absent in principle.

Users are starting to gradually get used to the fact that search service will provide them not only with the requested information, but also offer some solution. Moreover, it will save them time by anticipating the request itself.

Google declares that it is thus moving from the dissemination of information to the dissemination of knowledge. Google Now, one of the company's most advanced and promising products, is about turning facts into decisions, sometimes made for the user.

Google Now and the future of search engine promotion

Google Now is recognized as a “product of the future” precisely because of its ability to anticipate human desires and decisions.

Search not by direct queries, but by context, or more precisely, by context analysis is becoming more and more promising. Main activity ordinary users focused primarily on communicating on social networks and viewing the basic ones necessary for Everyday life data: routes, weather, etc. Their man prefers to receive fast, concise and accurate. Finding himself in a foreign country and finding out that, for example, the application with which he is used to ordering a taxi does not work: what will he do? Will try to find an analogue. But if will make a choice on its own, based on previous elections - of course, most people will prefer such a service.

Google Now is Google's personalized search service that understands voice queries. Its main feature is the absolute personalization of information - the application adapts to the needs and habits of the user. We will look at the main features and Google Teams Now.

Google Now appeared back in 2012 along with Android release 4.1 Jelly Bean, but it is still called the “product of the future”, since the possibilities of such a personalized search system are almost unlimited. The service is currently available on smartphones (iOS and Android), Chromebooks and the Chrome browser on computers.

The main purpose of Google Now is to display all necessary for the user information before he decides to enter a search query. To do this, the system tracks the person’s current location, the history of his requests, interests, routes he takes to work, scans his email inbox, and so on. Of course, it all looks a little creepy, and many users don't want Google to know that much about them. However, for those who are less concerned about their personal data, Google Now can make life a lot easier. So, what can the service do?

Firstly, Google app Now allows you to quickly and conveniently use the Internet using voice queries. This makes it similar to the Siri assistant, pre-installed in iPhones. Voice input Google is very accurate and thoughtful, and search system will reliably find almost any information.

However, the main feature of Google Now is the ability to display various information cards on which, for example, it reminds you of your friends’ birthdays, information about traffic congestion along your daily routes. Based on your calendar, Google Now can remind you of appointments and suggest optimal time leaving home, allowing you to be on time (based on traffic data).

Google Now also displays weather information if you are going on a trip - you will also see the weather at your destination. If you bought concert or movie tickets through a search engine, Google Now will remind you about the start of the show. The system can provide routes to the required places, and Google Now also displays sports cards that display the results of the performances of teams that you were previously interested in by typing their names into the search engine.

Moreover, not so long ago Google taught the Android version of Now to show which stores nearby have products that the user recently searched for on the Internet. At the same time, Google immediately demonstrates at what price the product is sold in this place - this allows you to decide whether you want to go to the store or not. Google Now can extract information from the user's Gmail mail, reading from there, for example, e-tickets on a plane, invitations to a meeting, and so on.

If Google Now realizes that you are abroad, it will automatically activate a translator into the local language, begin to show the “home” time and the ratio of local currency rates to your native one.

Of course, from time to time the "self-learning" system works too straightforwardly and a few careless search queries lead to the fact that you begin to see unnecessary cards. However, they can be easily brushed aside, showing Google that you are not interested in the matter.

At the same time, Google Now cards work even without an active Internet connection. Once loaded, they will “hang” as long as it is relevant (warning that they are working in offline mode). Initially, the service supported exclusively English language commands, but currently Google Now in Russian is practically not inferior in functionality to the English version.

However, on Google practice Now is not useful to all users. The greatest benefit from using the service comes from people who lead an orderly life - going to work at the same time, with established habits and interests. But for people with irregular schedules and chaotic daily routines, Now has very little to offer.

It is especially convenient to use Google Now on Android smartphones. Users of the operating system have access to a special widget that allows them to display cards directly on the desktop, without having to go into the application.

An interesting feature of the service is broadcasting your location to your Google+ circles. This way, you can not answer, for example, your wife when asked where you are, but simply allow her to follow your route. Users tracking your location will see data about your movements on special cards.

How to activate Google Now?

To start using Google Now, you need to download the application to your iOS or Android smartphone and log into your account. The longer you use Now, the smarter it will become, adapting more and more to you. Since Now is, first of all, mobile service, based on smartphone data, the desktop version in Chrome or on a Chromebook without the mobile phone installed will not work - you need to log in to the same browser account, which you use on your smartphone.

Google Now Commands

In order to get maximum benefit from using Google Now, the best thing to do is to learn the intuitive voice commands that the system understands on natural language. There are really a lot of them, since with their help you can perform almost any action. Before you start typing a command, you will have to say "OK Google", after which the application will go to active mode and you can begin to formulate tasks.

Use cases voice commands a bunch of. Let's mention just a few of them. First, you can set reminders for yourself based on time or location. For example, you could say “Remind me to call my mom at 8:00 pm” or “Remind me to call home when I get to work.”

You can also quickly set an alarm using Now by saying, for example, “Set alarm for 11.30.” Using your voice, you can quickly go to Gmail, start taking photos and videos, create notes, create calendar events, make calls, send SMS, post messages on social networks, and so on. It hardly makes sense to present the entire list of Now commands here, especially since they are on the project website.

Sensational and promoted Google function Most users liked Now, but not everyone. There are people who would like to remove it. Moreover, this will save some battery power on your smartphone.

How can I remove Google Now and Google Search? We will talk about this in this article. IN different versions Android and in different launchers, these services are intertwined with each other, so we will tell you in more detail about disabling in the instructions below:

How to remove Google Search?

There is a single answer on how to delete Google Search, there are many phones and there are also a lot of firmware versions, so there is a clear answer on how to delete a search engine Google string no, but we will try to explain different variants. On older ones Google versions Search is generally a separate application.

Using TouchWiz from Samsung as an example
1. The first thing you will need to do is go to the settings of your smartphone.

3. Let's go and look for our today's enemy Google Search or Google Start.

4. Find the application and delete it
If the process allows us to complete or stop it, then we do it. Helps you avoid accidental mistakes.

5. That's all, the search issue is resolved. In principle, the issue with Search will be resolved after this.

When exiting main screen The old screensaver will be waiting for you, but without the annoying search. If you have previously used the Google Start launcher, the system will ask you what you will now use to launch the main screen of your smartphone.

If you have Google The search is on as a separate application, and not a widget, you can delete it using similar actions.

However, not all smartphones have such a simple option to Google removal Search. If you have a smartphone pure Android 5 or Android 6 version with the Google Start launcher, then there is a solution for this, which is given below in the instructions.

How to disable Google Now service

On the one hand, Google Now provides great opportunities - namely, tips on the time of the journey home, weather forecasts, tracking of parking places, etc.. On the other hand, it mercilessly wastes battery power and irritates some kind of people - paranoids who are afraid of surveillance everywhere and everywhere.

It’s easy to enable the service, but you can disable it in several ways.

Previously before update Google service Now was a separate application, and of course you could simply uninstall it. (if you have Root rights of course).

After the global update, Google Now turned into a component of the global Google utility.

So let’s get down to it, to disable the Google Now service you need to:
1. Go to “Settings” - Google, or in the list of applications “ Google Settings»

2. Find “Search and Google Now” and open it.

3. We will see several more branches in the menu, find the item “ Google Suggestions Now.”

A swipe from the bottom of the screen launches the application. This gesture throws a small white circle on the screen with Google in the center, from which you can access. This works for both homescreen and lockscreen.

While most features Jelly Bean located on a dark background, almost entirely in white. The application provides you with cards with information, the formation of which depends on your actions.

Let's say you need to travel from point A to point B to negotiate there. you open Now and see your event card. Pressing Navigate(draw a route), you will be transferred to Google Maps Navigation, where the shortest route to the negotiation venue will be laid out.

When you get to the event venue, it will offer you a route back or to the next event, indicating the approximate travel time. By learning your routes, the app becomes more accurate and can suggest a specific path for you based on the time of day, day of the week and your current location.

If you are just moving around the area, then be prepared to receive information about various attractions along your way.

Can be compared with Siri on iOS, only in our case the application is less talkative, but has the same problem: only you cross the information boundaries that cover Now, How virtual assistant becomes powerless.

On this moment contains cards traffic, public transport, next destinations, flights, sports, weather, currency... All of them are designed to help users both in their daily movements around their hometown and when traveling.

Google Now is a revolutionary application for Android:
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Google Now is a personal assistant with intelligence. The program tries to improve and make the user's life easier by providing small tips and useful information. Google Company I originally planned to make Google Now a personalized device. The presentation of the program took place in 2012. For example, you want to have a snack, but you don’t know the right place to do it. This service will give a small recommendation: find the address and name of the establishment. The application uses up-to-date information for a given period of time.

How to download and install the Google Now app?

Google Now works on Android and iOS devices. This service can be installed on such operating systems, like: Android 4.1 and above, iOS 8.0 and above, OS X, Windows, Linux, Chrome OS. You can install the application on smartphones, tablets and others.

Android

Google Now can be installed on Android through the app store Play Market. Then click on the “Download” icon. Now you need to confirm that you agree to all the terms. After this, the download will begin. The application can be used.

iOS

You can't install Google Now on iOS separate application. The program is built into Google Search. You can download it through the store Apps Store:

Google Now features

The program has 36 information cards.

Google Now displays information data automatically: when you start using it, you select the cards that interest you. For example, if you need to find out actual news from the world of sports, then choose such a card. If you want to know the current outside temperature, then a card that displays weather conditions. The application can set an alarm for the time you need, record notes, check the weather for a specific day, manage the timer, recognize a song by several notes, announce current news, turn on SMS and calls using the user's voice, turn on a flashlight and many other functions.

How to use Google Now?

How to enable and how to disable?

Google Now is a very smart service. To enable it, you must be registered with Google. The application is activated in the search settings. After this, the program will ask you to say the phrase “Okay, Google” exactly three times. This is done so that the assistant can remember the user's voice.

You can disable Google Now using simple steps.

First, let’s go to “Settings”, where we open the “Search and Google Now” item. Then open the “Google Now Suggestions” section. Here we turn off hints. All is ready.

Google Now Settings

1. To activate, you need to give access to your calendar, location and Gmail.

2. Click on "Menu".

3. Launch has occurred. Click Show Example Cards. Then refresh the page and information.

4. Start filling out the cards. The content may be information that interests you.

5. Get started with the search bar.

The application does not work, errors in the application

The Google Now app may not work due to bad internet. All the capabilities and capabilities of the service are revealed when there is an excellent Internet connection.

What languages ​​does Google Now support?

Google Now supports English, Russian and other languages.