Google Voice Local Search Live
April 10th, 2007
There has been some speculation about this, and rumours picked up when Microsoft announced plans to acquire TellMe. Now Google have proved the rumour mills right by going ahead and launching Google Voice Local search.
The new service is currently in beta and can be accessed from the Google Labs site. It provides toll-free voice-activated search functionality for local business listings in the USA only.
Users can call the toll free number 1-800-GOOG-411 (1-800-4664-411). An operator asks for the location (city and state) and then category of business or business name. Users need to just speak what they are searching for. A rather sophisticated voice recognition system then mines results.
For category searches, the first 8 results are read out. Users can be connected to the businesses for free by just saying the number of the listing. For business names, the system offers to connect the user directly or to provide address and phone number details. Results can also be sent by SMS for free.
At present, the system does not include sponsored links, and so it doesnt need to differentiate organic listings from paid.
Tags: accuracast, search, news
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Yahoo! To Require Short Descriptions
August 9th, 2007 at 3:50 pm
[…] Mobile voice search is not a new concept in itself. Google have release in beta a voice-activated local search system back in April this year. Their system is free, unlike the one by Nuance, and is likely to gain much more traction once it is made available. “Combining speech recognition with GPS functionality allows easy access to feature-rich location-based capabilities using simple voice commands,” said Michael Thompson, VP of mobile search and communications at Nuance. […]
October 15th, 2007 at 6:49 pm
Update: Google Voice Local Search, GOOG-411 is now officially out of beta. Details about this service can be found at http://www.google.com/goog411/