The intelligent Google Now personal assistant bundled into the Google search app and Android will become more personalized and adapted to each user's needs.
According to online publication Search Engine Land, the Google Now application will introduce a new feature that aims to give users more control over the information tracked on their behalf. This new Google Now feature was first reported on Monday, August 8, by the Android Police blog.
Tech Crunch reports that the Google Now personal assistant app is already good at bringing the information users need at the right time, whether they're sport scores, event reminders, traffic alerts, weather, stock updates, flight info and much more. However, Google Now is still not fine-tuned enough to customize the assistant more precisely according to users' needs.
Up to date, the customization process in the Google Now app is done via a series of on/off toggle switches in the app's settings, as well as by tapping on individual items where the users can inform the personal assistant app that they are not interested in a news source or card. But Google is testing now a new feature called "Explore Interests." This new feature is aiming to offer users more control over what sort of information the Google search engine will track on their behalf and will inform Google about the exact type of information users want to hear more about.
The "Explore Interests" feature in the Google Now personal assistant may be rolling out slowly. At the present, a Google spokesperson confirmed that this new feature is an experiment tested for the look-and-feel of the product.
With "Explore Interests," Google will offer a better way to track news and other topics. The app informs users they can choose movies, bands and more. A click-through takes users to a screen with sections like "TV," "People," "Sports," "Musicians," "Movies," "Stocks" and more.
Each section allows users to browse across a number of subcategories through cards of individual items. If plus (+) signs are clicked it is possible to add the item to the list of things the user is tracking. Google Now gets a bit of local flair, as users can also see which topics are "Popular in Your Area" when they browse through these sections.
