The Google Duplex has decided to end its services after three years of operations. Google noted that they were responding to the feedback they received, from users and developers alike, on how to improve the Duplex experience. The company will discontinue the service on the web and focus on its AI advancements.
Why Is It Shutting Down?
One of the reasons could be the amount of effort behind training the AI, which uses a special user agent to crawl websites many times a day, as mentioned in Engadget. This helps the service understand how users interact with the websites where Duplex can be used. Since businesses can choose to deny Duplex access, it can hinder the service from improving.
What Could Duplex Do?
Initially, Duplex was meant to assist Android users with scoring movie tickets. If you have payment details saved on the web, it could even buy movie tickets for you. It also expanded to booking appointments and reservations. The service can make calls on your behalf, using a human-like voice as it interacts with businesses.
You can let the service take care of everything for as long as the business' details can be found on Google. This means that it can be found via Google Search, Google Maps, or Google Assistant. The Google Assistant will then ask you for details to confirm the time, type of service, or size of party for the appointment, purchase, or reservation.
Google Assistant will book the service using an online booking partner, or call the business directly, according to PocketLint. It has an automated voice-calling technology to perform the service it's intended to do. Duplex can also inquire about service hours, including those for the holidays or other special occasions.
Businesses can decide to decline the service assistance brought by Google Duplex, even if they are listed on Google. They would not receive calls if they change their settings in their Google My Business account, which affects Duplex's ability to have a wide range of coverage in terms of reaching businesses.
Initially, Duplex was only available on Google Pixel phones, and it could only reach restaurants in New York City, Atlanta, Phoenix, and San Francisco. It has branched out across the US since, as well as other countries. It became available in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, France, India, Japan, Mexico, Peru, Spain, the UK, and more.
In 2019, Duplex came on the web, which was an expansion of its phone reservation AI. The web feature allowed it to reach websites as well. Google added more features eventually, which protected users from possible data breaches that can access payment information. Over time, the feature can also check into flights as well as look for discounts.
There is still a certain extent that Google can assist you with appointments, services, and purchases. You can still ask Google Assistant to search for places and services for whatever you want, but Duplex will no longer make the calls for you before 2022 ends.
