Google Assistant Integrates Tile
Tile is adding direct integration with Google Assistant to its features. The additional function will let any device with Google Assistant call the Tile device directly, making it easier for people to find their misplaced items.
Tile Expanding Voice Assistant Stable
Currently, Tile offers a Google Assistant skill and users can tell the voice assistant on their phone to ask Tile to find whatever they’ve stuck the Bluetooth tracker to. The update will change the function to a native feature of Google Assistant, according to Tile’s announcement. A user will only need to say, “Hey Google, find my phone,” and the Tile will ring. Any device with Google Assistant will be able to connect to the Tile, meaning users won’t need to have their phone to call the Tile. Tile is already integrated with the Amazon Alexa and Apple Siri voice assistants in a similar fashion.
It isn’t clear why Tile and Google announced a relatively small change so far in advance of its rollout. It may be because of the rumors that Apple will announce a direct competitor for Tile at its upcoming hardware event. Adding another incentive for Google Assistant users to stick with Tile might be a way to limit the number of Tile and Google users who switch into Apple’s tech ecosystem completely.
On Google’s end, there’s the connection to its smart home and integrated Google Assistant strategy. As Google made clear at the recent Made by Google event, it is eager to bring Google Assistant into as many aspects of its customer’s lives as possible. The expanding smart home products include a lot of ways to integrate Google Assistant across a house, such as the new Nest WiFi router which integrates Google Assistant. Direct integration with a third-party product like Tile may be only a small part of its larger strategy, but anything that can attract and keep people using Google Assistant in the face of new products from rival companies will be of interest to Google.
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