Google assistant shows ads in responses

Google's virtual assistant, originally called Google Assistant , appears to have started displaying advertising in certain responses offered to questions posed by users. This novelty would be included in a series of changes that the company is implementing with the aim of improving the responses offered by the virtual assistant.

Advertising in Google Assistant responses

Tech giant Google is rolling out new and better response styles for Google Assistant, its virtual assistant. Among these novelties is the introduction of more visual and interactive elements in the responses to user queries. However, this update seems to come with a change that, for many users, does not constitute an improvement: depending on the query, the wizard could respond with ads similar to those shown when we perform normal searches through the Google search engine.

Screenshots taken by reader Johny Hongkong and shared on Android Police

Thus, the announcement that Google Assistant would offer richer results referred to this, saying that the new results "may include existing ads that could be seen in Search today." And so, some responses, such as those given to the search for nearby hotels, now return ads, as in this case, focused on making reservations.

Already during the past month of February Google seemed to be testing this new approach because at least one user obtained "sponsored responses" in his assistant. When asked about it, Google offered an answer that doesn't seem like an answer: "We're always trying new ways to improve the phone experience, but we don't have anything specific to announce right now."

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