Google Assistant can quickly read the website and schedule actions.

Google Assistant can quickly read the website and schedule actions.

The Google Assistant will soon have more features and compatible devices, the search giant announced today (January 7) at CES 2020 in Las Vegas.

CES has been the place where Google has unveiled new features for its voice assistant in recent years. This year's update will allow the assistant to work with the Philips Hue HDMI Sync Box to sync Philips Hue smart lights with a TV. This feature will be available later this spring, Google said in a blog post.

The assistant will get a new readout voice. Google promises it will sound less robotic, but it's entirely up to the ear of the beholder. And one of the features that brings that upgraded voice to the forefront is reading web pages. Just say, "Hey Google, read," and the assistant will read the web page to you. This is a handy feature when you don't want to stare at your phone's screen.

According to Google, this read-aloud feature works in 42 languages.

Indeed, Google's entire announcement is a grab bag of features and integrations.

Of course, there is no timetable yet as to when any of these new capabilities will start working in the real world. Google has only said that all of these will appear "this year."

Be sure to check out our CES 2020 hub for the latest announcements and hands-on impressions from Las Vegas.

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