Google Assistant can now make phone calls and book appointments for you

Alphabet's Google showed off an updated virtual assistant that can call restaurants, hair salons, and other businesses on a user's behalf to check hours and make appointments.

The update, among other features being unveiled at its annual developer conference Google I/O, comes as Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft and other technology leaders are vying to provide artificial intelligence to manage photos, emails, schedules and more.

Keeping users in their apps would help to maintain the companies' booming businesses of selling ads, goods or online computing services.

Google Chief Executive Sundar Pichai and executives said the company aimed to improve "digital well-being" for users whose lives are dominated by mobile phones and other technology.

For example, Google's updated Android operating system will notify users how much they are using apps through the new Dashboard feature and let them set limits for themselves and family members.

Read: Google showcases its AI smarts at its big developer conference

During the keynote, Google CEO Sundar Pichai played phone conversations between the assistant and people at a restaurant and hair salon. wherein the assistant responded to several questions to make a hair appointment and find out when the restaurant line would be short.

The company said it would begin to test the technology, called Duplex, to call businesses this summer.

Google is also expanding the Assistant's ability to order food from restaurants including Starbucks and Domino's Pizza while its Maps feature would make provide dining suggestions.

Smart displays, which integrate Google Assistant into video screens, will be expected to go on sale from hardware makers in July this year.

App developers will also be able to use a new software kit to integrate Google's speech-to-text and other artificial intelligence capabilities into their own services.

Big technology companies have undergone heightened scrutiny following a decade in which smartphones, fast internet connections, and social media became widely accessible.

Issues include the spread of misinformation and extremist propaganda through Facebook and Google, and scandals involving how companies use and share their data. How artificial intelligence may replace human work or be infected with human prejudices is a growing concern as well.

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