E*TRADE Launches Google Assistant Action to Track Stock Portfolio Status But Features Are Limited
E*TRADE announced this morning a new Action for Google Assistant. Similar to an announcement earlier today from TD Ameritrade about their new Google Action, E*TRADE customers can link their accounts through Google Assistant to check on their portfolio and the status of specific stocks. The Google Action cannot make stock trades by voice and doesn’t appear to provide access to broader market information.
Limited Features for Initial Launch
The E*TRADE action is listed in the Google Assistant online directory, but you cannot launch or invoke it on Android and iOS smartphones, nor on a Google Home smart speaker or Google Home Hub unless you link an account. And, you cannot ask to “launch E*TRADE” or “Talk to E*TRADE” as you would expect. You must use a specific request to E*TRADE about your portfolio or individual stocks. You can think of it as only allowing for deeplink requests and not offering access to more general questions or even inquiries about what the Action can do. If you do not make a specific request in your invocation, Google Assistant either says it cannot answer your question or offers the current stock price for E*TRADE shares.
In addition, if you ask for specific stock price information from within the Action, Google Assistant will answer the question and not the E*TRADE Action. This is true whether or not the stock in question is in your portfolio. You can get E*TRADE to answer this st0ck price query but only with a full invocation where you mention E*TRADE by name and only for stocks in your portfolio. When Google Assistant takes over in providing stock information, it means you are no longer in session with E*TRADE and cannot ask simple follow up questions about your holdings. You need to reinvoke the Google Action to ask additional questions.
The extent of the E*TRADE Google Action feature set is unclear, but it appears to be very limited to three or four data points, all about your portfolio performance and individual stocks. Voicebot has contacted E*TRADE to request additional information and will update this article as more details become available.
Ease of Access to Basic Portfolio Data but No Alexa Skill
The company’s rationale for launching the Google Action is to make it easier for customers to access their account information wherever they are and whenever they have time. “Investors are on the move—between driving to work, getting dressed, juggling kids’ soccer practice, or simply making dinner—it can be hard to find time in the day to keep a watchful eye on your portfolio,” said Ed Andersen, Vice President of Mobile and Advanced Technology at E*TRADE Financial. The Google Action may help with this but the feature set is limited compared to competing solutions today.
It is also worth noting that E*TRADE launched on Google Assistant first unlike most of its financial services peers. It does not have an Amazon Alexa skill.
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