Google Cloud Speech API Now Available to Developers

The same Google Cloud Speech API that powers Google Assistant is now available to developers. It was launched in an open beta during the summer of 2016 and can translate speech to text (STT) or text to speech (TTS) in over 80 languages. Abner Li of 9to5Google put the announcement in these terms:

Neural network models can recognize over 80 languages and variants, with transcription available immediately after speaking. The API is built on the core technology that powers speech recognition for Google Assistant, Search, and Now, though it has been adapted to better fit the needs of Cloud customers.

Google Cloud Speech API Used in Production Today

The blog post announcing the product’s general availability cited Houston’s InteractiveTel “for speech-to-text transcription in near real-time.” And, “Japan-based Clarion uses Cloud Speech API to power its in-car navigation and entertainment systems.”

This is not the Google Assistant API so it does not employ natural language understanding and doesn’t connect you with voice assistant AI. However, Google Assistant is limited to just three languages today, English, German and Hindi. The new Google Cloud Speech API can give you an idea of how Google could expand to as many as 80 languages over time.
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