Google Home Update Adds Millions of Recipes
A study from Experian found that 50.9% of consumers use their Amazon Echo in their kitchen. Not surprising when you consider that the kitchen is the center of most household activities. It is also pretty useful to have a hands-free device available while cooking. Google Home is capitalizing on this with its latest update: providing access to over 5 million recipes pulled from Bon Appetite, The New York Times, Food Network and others. And the update has also made it even easier to use the device while cooking. Previously, Google Home would rattle off the recipe without letting you pause or ask questions. A less than ideal user experience for following a recipe, unless you have an amazing memory. But now you can ask Google Home to repeat steps or tell it when it is time to move on to the next one.
Asking for Clarification and Getting Corrected Automatically
You can also ask Google Home questions throughout the cooking process, like “How much olive oil do I need?” Or, if you ask about baking soda instead of baking powder, the device will correct you. While being able to follow a recipe hands-free is ideal, searching for a new recipe without a screen is a bit of a challenge. Google remediates this by allowing you to use the Google Assistant and the Google search app on your phones to send a recipe to your Google Home with one click. This update is a great one to improve the user experience. The new feature is rolling out and will be available to all users by the end of the week.
It is particularly interesting that this update came from Google itself. Similar to the new Echo Look and Style Check fashion consultant that Amazon released this week, the platforms aren’t waiting for independent developers to come up with useful new applications. They are filling in gaps on their own in order to continuously improve the utility for consumers.
