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Google Assistant will order dinner from your Android phone

That's just one way changes to Google Assistant on Android will make your phone more awesome in 2018.

Jessica Dolcourt Senior Director, Commerce & Content Operations
Jessica Dolcourt is a passionate content strategist and veteran leader of CNET coverage. As Senior Director of Commerce & Content Operations, she leads a number of teams, including Commerce, How-To and Performance Optimization. Her CNET career began in 2006, testing desktop and mobile software for Download.com and CNET, including the first iPhone and Android apps and operating systems. She continued to review, report on and write a wide range of commentary and analysis on all things phones, with an emphasis on iPhone and Samsung. Jessica was one of the first people in the world to test, review and report on foldable phones and 5G wireless speeds. Jessica began leading CNET's How-To section for tips and FAQs in 2019, guiding coverage of topics ranging from personal finance to phones and home. She holds an MA with Distinction from the University of Warwick (UK).
Expertise Content strategy, team leadership, audience engagement, iPhone, Samsung, Android, iOS, tips and FAQs.
Jessica Dolcourt
2 min read

Feeling hungry? Pretty soon, you'll be able to order dinner using Google Assistant on your Android phone.

Watch this: Google Assistant gets food ordering and delivery

Changes to the Google Assistant software, which is integrated into nearly all Android phones, will make it possible to order food for pickup and delivery. It will even remember what you ordered, to save you a step if you plan to reorder the same dish next time. 

Google Assistant's update for 2018 shows you a snapshot of your day.

Google

Assistant goes a step further for some partner restaurants, like Starbucks and Panera; the software sidekick will work with third-party apps to streamline the food-procurement process. "Hey Google, order my usual from Starbucks." Google is also working with Dunkin Donuts, Door Dash and more.

That's not all  Google  has in store for Google Assistant on Android phones. 

You know how Assistant will tell you when to leave for appointments, or your commute home? Google is expanding this to show you a visual snapshot of your day. Call it an interactive personal dashboard. That'll include the weather forecast, your commute and calendar appointments on the agenda. You'll also be able to integrate notes from Google Keep, Any.do, Todoist and Remember the Milk, to name a few. To see your dashboard, just open Google Assistant and swipe up.

When you ask it a question, Google Assistant wants to make it easier for you to see the answer. Ask, and you shall receive richer responses with bigger pictures that take up more of the screen. If you're using your Android phone to adjust your Nest thermostat or smart lights, for example, Google Assistant will pull up smart home controls, like a temperature or dimmer wheel that lets you dig into adjustments.

Finally, you'll be able to share your arrival time with others using a voice request.   

Watch this: 'Send my ETA': Google Assistant gets a lot smarter at I/O

Google Assistant for Android phones and Google Home competes with AI helpers like Amazon's Alexa, Apple's Siri and Samsung's Bixby Voice software. Changes to Google Assistant can spur competition with these other services, eventually raising the bar for what they all can do.

These Google Assistant updates will launch on Android phones this summer and iOS later this year.

Android P will give Android gestures like the iPhone X: Google's vision of Android P is now a lot less hazy. But the company still won't tell us what the "P" stands for.

Google's Duplex could make Assistant the most lifelike AI yet: Experimental technology called Duplex, rolling out soon in a limited release, makes you think you're talking to a real person.