Google planning Siri-like ‘Assistant’ for later this year, says report

Google will release a voice-enabled application for Android that is similar to Apple’s popular Siri by the fourth quarter of 2012, according a report by TechCrunch.

While some view Siri as a gimmick, Apple touted its voice assistant heavily in several advertising campaigns throughout the winter. Apple must have struck a chord with consumers, because Siri and a few other great features made the iPhone 4S an incredible seller. While we don’t know exactly how many 4S units were moved in the last quarter, Apple sold a record 37 million iPhones in Q1 2012. Ask Siri how she likes them apples.

Google, wanting to help Android cash in to this frenzy, will reportedly be pushing out its Siri competitor before the end of the year. The application is rumored to be simply called “Assistant” and it wants to one up Apple’s darling. Ideally, it will be able to tap Google’s powerful search engine for knowledge and integrate Google services like Gmail, Google+, and YouTube, making it easier than ever to do anything on your phone.

Assistant additionally could find its way into other applications with Google offering an open API. This way, developers could integrate features from Assistant into their apps. I could see that being exceptionally helpful for doing searches on social apps, travel apps, games, and more.

Further adding fuel to this rumor fire, Google applied for a patent that sounded quite a bit like Siri a few weeks ago. That patent was targeted for Google TV, but based on Google’s history, it will use this technology across all of its services.

Would you like to see a Siri-like application on Android and Google TV by the end of this year?

Corporate assistant photo: Andy Dean Photography/Shutterstock