SERVICE EXPANSION
Google fights off Siri and Alexa with Android launch of digital helper
Alphabet’s Google opens up its 'intelligent assistant' to Android partners
San Francisco — Five months after introducing its digital assistant, Google is sharing the feature with Android partners, hoping the service can boost its odds to win customers from Apple’s iPhone. Alphabet’s Google is making its intelligent assistant — a service that answers queries, plays music and completes tasks — available for smartphones using the two newest versions of its Android software. It is showcasing the service with a closer partnership with LG Electronics, announced on Sunday at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, where LG and a slew of hardware manufacturers aim to make a splash ahead of iPhone’s 10th anniversary later this year. Until now, Google’s Pixel smartphone, introduced in October, has been the only handset with the company’s automated assistant. Gummi Hafsteinsson, the product lead for the assistant, said exclusivity was required to refine the system, a key priority at the company. "It was a new product and we wanted to make sure we took the baby steps ...
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