VentureBeat’s Bots Channel tracks the most important news and analysis from the exploding field of bots and messaging. Each week, we select the top stories and present them in our free weekly newsletter, BotBeat. We include news stories by VentureBeat staff, guest articles from leading figures in the bots community, and a good number of posts from a wide variety of other outlets. You can subscribe to our BotBeat newsletter to receive this information in your inbox every Thursday.
Here’s this week’s newsletter:
Well, just one week after the launch of Actions on Google, I’m thrilled to write that VentureBeat is now available on Google Home.
Google Home users can listen to our latest headlines and full stories simply by saying “VentureBeat news” to the device. Our voice bot comes from Gupshup, the first bot platform to be integrated with Google Home.
AI Weekly
The must-read newsletter for AI and Big Data industry written by Khari Johnson, Kyle Wiggers, and Seth Colaner.
Included with VentureBeat Insider and VentureBeat VIP memberships.
In the weeks ahead, we’ll work with Gupshup to make the VentureBeat bot available for Slack, Telegram, Facebook Messenger, and other services — adding new, platform-specific functionality along the way. VentureBeat readers will also be able to access our tech news on the Google Home app for Google Pixel, an integration that is expected to take place in early 2017.
And we aren’t the only ones getting into the voice bot game this week. You may find yourself talking to Amazon’s Alexa on your next visit to Las Vegas. And if you’re an audiophile who loves Harman Kardon, Microsoft’s Cortana may be music to your ears.
As always, please send news tips to Khari Johnson and guest post submissions to John Brandon. Be sure to visit our Bots Channel for comprehensive news on bots and messaging.
Thanks for reading,
— Blaise Zerega
Editor in Chief
P.S. Please enjoy this demonstration video of VentureBeat on Google Home.
From the Bots Channel
VentureBeat news is now available on Google Home
VentureBeat today announced that its tech news is now available on Google Home. Consumers with Google Home can now listen to the latest headlines and full stories simply by saying “VentureBeat news” to the device. VentureBeat’s new voice bot is part of the Actions on Google initiative that was announced last week. The bot was built […]
Facebook is testing suggested responses in its M assistant
Facebook Messenger rolled out a new feature today that’s powered by M, its AI-powered virtual assistant. The new feature, called M Suggestions, appears in chat conversations to suggest a response based on the topic of conversation. So if someone asks “Where are you?” M detects the intent and suggests that you share your location. The bot will […]
Wynn Las Vegas to put an Amazon Echo in every hotel room by summer 2017
Hotel company Wynn Resorts today said that it will place an Amazon Echo smart speaker inside every one of the more than 4,700 hotel rooms in it Las Vegas hotel by summer 2017. “The resort will be the first to have an Echo in every room that enables guests to voice-control all of the smart […]
Why The Last Guardian’s AI is a good example for chatbot developers
The game The Last Guardian features one big achievement that’s fairly awe-inspiring. It’s not the level design or even the gameplay, which are both compelling enough. As a long-time gamer who has fond memories of playing Ico quite a few years ago and then beating the spiritual […]
Chatbots are the next big cybercrime target
Chatbots are all the rage these days. And it’s no surprise, as they offer a method of frictionless, natural conversation between a brand and its customers, as well as the ability to improve the customer service experience without the need to augment expensive department staff. At this point in time, while the “chat” part of […]
15 tech trends in autonomous cars, artificial intelligence, and machine learning for 2017
Tech is about to change dramatically next year. Want to stay up to date? These predictions from the famed design firm frog spell things out for you. In each section, a designer explains all of the details. Which one is already on your radar? I want to hear your viewpoints, so drop me an email. […]
Related coverage
The Great A.I. Awakening
How Google used artificial intelligence to transform Google Translate, one of its more popular services — and how machine learning is poised to reinvent computing itself. (via New York Times)
What Your Competitors Are Asking This Chatbot About You
At this very moment, someone is digging up competitive intelligence on a company (maybe even yours). They’re figuring out how much it’s spending on marketing campaigns, what software it uses to power its website, what paid keywords it is bidding for and much, much more. (via Medium)
3 reasons 2017 is the year to develop a company chatbot
During Microsoft’s Build Conference earlier this year, CEO Satya Nadella delivered the three-hour keynote address, in which he highlighted his belief that the future of technology lies in human language. In this new wave of technology, conversation is the new interface, and “bots are the new apps.” (via The Next Web)
Microsoft’s AI vision, rooted in research, conversations
Microsoft has been investing in the promise of artificial intelligence for more than 25 years — and this vision is coming to life with new chatbot Zo, Cortana Devices SDK and Skills Kit, and expansion of intelligence tools.(via Microsoft)
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