Google Assistant Beat Amazon Alexa At CES 2018, New King On The Horizon?

Up until this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, Amazon has been dominating the smart assistant scene with Alexa. With the huge popularity of its Echo products, the artificial intelligence has made a lot of headlines throughout 2017. This year might be different, with Google’s own smart assistant having a much larger presence with significantly more varied devices at the electronics conference.

While Alexa did also have a massive presence at CES 2018, it was the first time in the event’s history that Google has been so visible, Tom’s Guide reports. The Google Assistant was present in the products of many brands, including LG and Sony, but more than that, it was present in many kinds of products.

The smart assistant was found in what is called Smart Displays, many of which are similar to tablets that can be interacted with and can be carried around. This is simply not possible with an Echo Show.

Another sign that Google is catching up to Amazon in the smart assistant sphere is how some brands that only used Alexa in the past are now using Google Assistant as well. A prominent example is the Sonos One smart speakers.

Now, it is worth pointing out that the two companies seem to have different priorities right now. Amazon seems to want its smart assistant to be found in every toaster, light switch, or security system available. Google, on the other hand, seems more concerned about showing off what its Google Assistant is capable of by making it easier for users to see what it can do via a function called Actions.

As The Verge also notes, Las Vegas was absolutely flooded with billboards and signs advertising the Google Assistant during CES. Obviously, this is a promotional strategy that is intended to overshadow Alexa and place the spotlight squarely on Google’s smart assistant. So far, this seems to have worked.