As time goes on, Google Assistant is going to become more transactional on smartphones, smartwatches and Google Home. There are still a number of marketers who are skeptical about the mainstream potential of virtual assistants as a search alternative, or as a commercial platform. But in the end, it seems that this is going to happen.
Today, Google is rolling out an improved movie-ticket buying experience with Fandango. There is already a 1.0 version of this, but Google will now facilitate the transaction entirely with voice, as opposed to using both voice and touch:
We worked with Fandango so you can buy tickets to the movies using your voice — all you need to say is “buy tickets” once you’ve decided which movie to see. Or if you already have a movie in mind, you can just say “Hey Google, get me tickets for…” and insert the name of the movie you want to see. You can even buy advance tickets for upcoming movies, like “Solo: A Star Wars Story” opening on May 25th.
If the ticket purchase includes a seat-reservation, Google will hand off to Fandango to allow seat selection.
It seems like a possiblitiy that every third-party booking engine showing up in the Knowledge Panel will, in the end, be voice-enabled for the Google Assistant.
There are several reasons Google is doing this, and among them includes:
There are several reasons Google is doing this; among them:
- Users want this; it allows Google to better fulfill user objectives and expectations.
- Ads may be less viable than transaction fees on smartwatches and Google Home devices (without screens).
- It diminishes the importance of mobile apps, something Google has tried to accomplish from day one.
Currently, Google is ahead of Apple, who wants to do something similar with Siri and actions/transactions.