The Google Assistant has turned into a virtual salesman with the introduction of ads

by Joe M. / Mar 16, 2017, 3:27 PM

The Google Assistant has turned into a virtual salesman with the introduction of ads

It's something that was bound to happen sooner or later. Google is the king when it comes to online advertisements, and it's one of the largest sources of revenue for the company as a whole. Ads are what allow entities such as Google to exist, so I suppose it should only make sense that they appear to have made their way over to the Google Assistant.

Between multiple users on Reddit and a video on Twitter from Bryson Meunier, we have solid evidence that Google is now running an ad for the new Beauty and the Beast remake when you ask the Google Assistant "what's my day like?" This command prompts the Assistant to read through your usually briefings (weather, traffic, news headlines, etc.), but now you might hear a promo for Disney's latest feature film. The ad is played in between your regular daily updates, and while the method through which Google is delivering it is quite natural, it's a move that's bound to irritate more than one person.

The Verge reached out to Google to see what they had to say about the matter, and the response that the company came back with is quite interesting. A spokesperson for Google responded by saying that, "This isn't an ad; the beauty in the Assistant is that it invites our partners to be our guest and share their tales." However, with various users reporting that they're still receiving this audio promo even without having done any prior searches for Beauty and the Beast, we're not sure what Google's definition of an ad is if they don't consider this to be one.

While people have run across the Beauty and the Beast "advertisement" on the Google Assistant through their smartphone, it appears to be much more prevalent on Google Home. We've yet to hear it, but it looks like this is something a lot of people are experiencing. We can't say that we blame Google for messing around with ads on Assistant/Home, but we'd love to know your thoughts about this in the comments below.

source: Reddit, Bryson Meunier via The Verge

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20 Comments

1. kiko007

Posts: 7493; Member since: Feb 17, 2016

Stupid Question: Can somebody make an Adblocker for a VA?

posted on Mar 16, 2017, 3:36 PM 2

2. kiko007

More specifically, can you mute vocal ads?

posted on Mar 16, 2017, 3:47 PM 0

3. Tipus

Posts: 851; Member since: Sep 30, 2016

There's a kickstarter for you :)

posted on Mar 16, 2017, 3:55 PM 5

4. danny_a2005

Posts: 358; Member since: Oct 06, 2011

or release a premium version like spotify. XD

posted on Mar 16, 2017, 4:38 PM 1

20. vincelongman

Posts: 5677; Member since: Feb 10, 2013

Google Home Red lol

posted on Mar 17, 2017, 2:44 AM 0

13. joey_sfb

Posts: 6794; Member since: Mar 29, 2012

kiko007 that doesn't even own a Google Home is so triggered. I watch the video and i like what Google did. The adv is incorporated in a manner that is natural and unoffensive. I don't normally like Ads as it take up my display real estate, spaces that could better use to serve me but Google Home approach, i think it value add to me so i'm OK with it.

posted on Mar 16, 2017, 9:02 PM 1

15. kiko007

"kiko007 that doesn't even own a Google Home is so triggered." The hell are you talking about? I asked two simple questions....

posted on Mar 16, 2017, 9:33 PM 0

18. joey_sfb

hit a nerve i see... Watch the video and tell me that it does not add more character into the conversation.

posted on Mar 17, 2017, 12:57 AM 1

5. bucky

Posts: 3778; Member since: Sep 30, 2009

Didn't expect anything less.

posted on Mar 16, 2017, 5:01 PM 0

6. brianrudy

Posts: 2; Member since: Nov 04, 2012

This is the kind of thing that could drive me over to iOS!

posted on Mar 16, 2017, 5:21 PM 0

9. trojan_horse

Posts: 5868; Member since: May 06, 2016

"This is the kind of thing that could drive me over to iOS!" That's a kind of an odd perspective, as this Google Home Assistant is in no way related to Android. Besides, Google Assistant itself isn't off any nuisance to use.

posted on Mar 16, 2017, 7:17 PM 1

7. joevsyou

Posts: 1091; Member since: Feb 28, 2015

disgusting, they give this crap out over google on tap?

posted on Mar 16, 2017, 5:43 PM 0

8. JGuinan007

Posts: 699; Member since: May 19, 2011

Why not pay for no ads?

posted on Mar 16, 2017, 7:06 PM 0

10. Tziggy14

Posts: 624; Member since: Sep 02, 2014

Typical Google. Still too dependent on ads to fund their revenue. Amazon Echo is looking mighty nice.

posted on Mar 16, 2017, 8:05 PM 0

12. lyndon420

Posts: 6737; Member since: Jul 11, 2012

Question: What is Amazon's core business model? If I buy an Amazon Echo and never say the word 'Amazon', will it eventually reference Amazon in some way? They made a phone with a specific idea in mind, and I'm sure they didn't create the echo for the sole purpose of making our lives better and/or easier.

posted on Mar 16, 2017, 8:51 PM 1

11. monoke

Posts: 1157; Member since: Mar 14, 2015

Hopefully it doesn't come over to google now too cuz that would blow hard as well.

posted on Mar 16, 2017, 8:28 PM 0

14. lyndon420

Not much different than cable TV compared to Pay TV. One has commercials and the other doesn't - one costs more than the other. I'm already paying Google $9.99/month for their music service, and I'd gladly pay for their YouTube Red service if they'd make it available in Canada. On top of that I'd be okay with paying another $9.99/month if it gave me a clean, fast and safer web browsing experience.

posted on Mar 16, 2017, 9:05 PM 0

16. MrElectrifyer

Posts: 3960; Member since: Oct 21, 2014

Lol, now who would have expected that from a data-mining giant who lives and breaths ads? Nothing surprising here, never liked this personal data-mining assistant from the start...google voice search offers enough assistant already, no need for any of that privacy-invading "personalization" sh*t.

posted on Mar 16, 2017, 9:50 PM 0

17. piyath

Posts: 2445; Member since: Mar 23, 2012

That's unexpected and very low of Google..

posted on Mar 16, 2017, 10:00 PM 0

19. Leo_MC

Posts: 7216; Member since: Dec 02, 2011

Somebody sent me a image to print from my iPhone; upon opening, I've seen an ad and I was "wtf, since when does my image and print tools display adds?!", but then I realized the ad was in the document I received. The next time one praises Android "superiority" I will be asking how many adds one is seeing everyday, because I see none on my iOS devices.