So Much Better Than Clippy: Google Now Comes to a Desktop Near You
Your browser experience is about to be forever changed with the arrival of Google Now to Chrome. It's already acting as a digital valet for Android and iPhone users, and now desktop devotees signed into Chrome will be greeted with all the day's pertinent information.
Google Now's trademark cards will begin pushing to your operating system's notifications center over the next few days. Users will see the same notifications that appear on their phones as long as they're signed into the same Google account on both devices.
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New to the world of Google Now? Below, we have a quick catch-up on what's so life-changing about it.
- Google Now knows you better than you know yourself. OK, that's a bit of an exaggeration, but the feature really is that smart. It learns your search habits: the scores you check every day, where you're looking up directions to/from, what events are on your GCal, etc. The feature will pull up information cards based on these personal nuggets, so what you need is right at your fingertips.
- It's location-aware. Thanks to Google Maps and synchronicity with other Google apps like Calendar and Mail, Google Now will tell you when you need to leave your house to get to your next appointment or make your flight. It looks at traffic flow, your average walking speed, or the routes you usually take to get to that destination. Keep in mind that Google Now for desktop will pull location information based on where your mobile device is located.
- It's travel-friendly. Google Now automatically retrieves your digital boarding pass — QR code and all — from your Gmail inbox. A similar card will show up when you've received an email with a tracking code for a package.
- It has voice search. If you use Google Search's voice function, you'll get Google results plus personalized information cards from Google Now.
— Additional reporting by Nicole Nguyen