We launched Google Assistant five years ago — and back then, it sometimes felt a bit strange to ask our devices for help. Now, digital assistants are part of daily life for millions of people around the world. In fact, Google Assistant has helped answer billions of questions, send millions of messages, make millions of recipes, set billions of reminders and much more (hands-free!). In its early days, Assistant offered just two voices, was available on Google Home speakers in the U.S. and supported English and German on Pixel phones. Now, Assistant is available in over 90 countries in nearly 30 languages, offers 10 voices to choose from and works with more than 100 million smart home devices, including lights,…
Ready for a gourd time? Google Maps guide to Halloween
Where are my ghouls at? With Halloween coming, it’s time to carve out some time for fall fun. We’ve rounded up top searched destinations for spooky haunts, pumpkin patches and corn mazes across the U.S. that you’re sure to die for! Go big or gourd home Autumn leaves and pumpkins please? On Google Maps, there’s a 375% increase in pumpkin-related searches between September and October — with the most popular search being “pumpkin patch,” which increases nearly 470%. So whether you’re looking to spice up your fall decor or carve the spookiest jack-o-lantern, here’s some of the top-searched spots to find the best pick of the pumpkin patch. Here are some of the top-searched pumpkin patches on Google Maps in…
Welcome to spooky season
The smell of pumpkin spice is in the air, which means it’s about time to bust out the costumes, stock up on some candy and carve a pumpkin or two. If you need a little inspiration, look no further than these spooky Search and Maps trends we collected. Pumpkin to Search about Whether you plan on spending the day watching Halloween classics or trick-or-treating in a clever costume, we’ve got Search trends to give you some ideas. (Be sure to also check out our annual Frightgeist for the most-searched Halloween costumes across the U.S.) Most-searched Halloween movies over the past week in the U.S. Halloween (1978) Friday the 13th Hocus Pocus A Nightmare on Elm Street Halloweentown Already seen…
3 new ways to navigate more sustainably with Maps
Vehicles on the road account for over 75% of transportation CO2 emissions and are one of the largest contributors of greenhouse gasses worldwide, according to the International Energy Agency. Today at our Sustainable with Google event, we’re announcing three new Google Maps updates to help lower these emissions and provide people with greener choices when getting from A to B. Eco-friendly routing: now live 🚗 Earlier this year, we announced that Google Maps would be updated with an entirely new routing model that not only gets you to your destination as quickly as possible, but also optimizes for lower fuel consumption — which saves you money on gas. Thanks to AI and insights from the U.S. Department of Energy’s National…