Google plans big for Assistant; Chrome OS integration on cards

Google will soon be integrating its digital voice Assistant to Chrome OS and Chromebooks other than the Pixelbook. According to XDA Developers, this update will disable the Assistant by default. There will an additional setting that will allow or prevent Chromebooks from listening from responding to 'Ok Google' or 'Hey Google' hotword.

This will also allow manufacturers to confine the Assistant to a button press. On the Pixelbook, users can either use voice command to activate the voice assistant or the Assistant key on the bottom left of the device.

The search giant hinted at Assistant support for Chromebooks back in October last year, when the Google Home app added Chromebooks to the list of compatible devices for a chat with the Assistant.

The Assistant integration for Chrome will further smoothen the integration between Chrome OS and Android. This also indicates that Google wants to groom Chrome OS in order to power large-screen computing.

In December last year, Google announced an initiative to start blocking ads with Chrome browser. To do so, the users have to add the ad blocking extensions on Chrome. Google wants its users to enjoy ad-free browsing experience, so the company announced that it will block ads from Chrome browser starting from February 15. The browser will block ads from the company as well.

But hold on, there's more to this. Google will only block these ads if the website does not pass its 'Better Ads Standards.' Website admins can use Google's Ad Experience Report in order to identify the ads that do match with Better Ads Standards. If the website does pass the status, then the ads will continue to appear as usual. If the status is not cleared within 30 days, then Chrome will no longer display those ads.

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The announcement for killing ads on the Chrome browser starting February 15 also shows how Google cares about its users who want to enjoy browsing with any interruptions. Also, the initiative encourages websites to have acceptable ads. We will have to wait and watch until the specified date to know whether the new initiative pays off.