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Need a Reservation? Google Duplex Can Do It in 43 States

Google's artificial intelligence-powered Duplex feature for its virtual Assistant can now call in your restaurant reservations in most US states on Pixel phones.

 & Angela Moscaritolo Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

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Short on time, but need to make a restaurant reservation? In most US states, the Google Assistant can now help you out with that.

Google on Wednesday announced that its artificial intelligence-powered Duplex feature for the virtual assistant can now call in your restaurant reservations in 43 US states. (Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, and Texas will have to wait.)

"All it takes is a few seconds to tell your Assistant where you'd like to go," Scott Huffman, VP of Google Assistant Engineering, wrote in a blog post. "Just ask the Assistant on your phone, 'Book a table for four people at [restaurant name] tomorrow night.'"

From there, the virtual assistant will call the restaurant and try to make a reservation for you at your specified time. If it's successful, you'll get a notification on your phone as well as an email reminder and calendar invite.

At this point, the feature is only available on Pixel handsets, but Huffman said Google plans to bring it to "more Android and iOS devices" over the next few weeks.

"We look forward to bringing this service to more people across the US to make planning a night out just a bit easier," Huffman wrote.

First announced at Google I/O in May, the Duplex feature for Google Assistant can also place calls on your behalf to book appointments. The demo was impressive, but the technology itself prompted concern about misuse. Google later said Duplex will identify itself when calling businesses, so people don't feel duped.

About Our Expert

Angela Moscaritolo

Angela Moscaritolo

Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

My Experience

I'm PCMag's managing editor for consumer electronics, overseeing an experienced team of analysts covering smart home, home entertainment, wearables, fitness and health tech, and various other product categories. I have been with PCMag for more than 10 years, and in that time have written more than 6,000 articles and reviews for the site. I previously served as an analyst focused on smart home and wearable devices, and before that I was a reporter covering consumer tech news. I'm also a yoga instructor, and have been actively teaching group and private classes for nearly a decade. 

Prior to joining PCMag, I was a reporter for SC Magazine, focusing on hackers and computer security. I earned a BS in journalism from West Virginia University, and started my career writing for newspapers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

The Technology I Use

My little Florida beach bungalow is brimming with smart home tech. I have a smart speaker or display in every room, allowing me to control other connected devices by voice. The Nest Hub on my bedside table lets me set wake-up alarms, control my smart light bulbs, and set the temperature on my smart thermostat. I use the Amazon Echo Show 8 on my kitchen counter to browse recipes, reorder protein powder, check the weather, and watch the news while I do dishes. 

Because I suffer from allergies, air purifiers are essential. My favorite model is the Dyson Purifier Cool TP07, which doubles as a fan and continuously sends indoor pollution data to its companion mobile app. 

My pitbull Bradley sheds, so a good robot vacuum is a must. I currently use a premium Ecovacs Deebot that can both vacuum and mop, empty its own dustbin, and wash its own mop cloth. 

For fitness, I like to mix up my routine with cycling, indoor rowing, running, and strength training in addition to yoga. I take classes on the Tonal 2 smart strength training machine, I row indoors on an Aviron machine, and track my beach runs with an Apple Watch while listening to music on my Apple AirPods Pro. On the weekends, I love riding e-bikes like the rugged, beach-friendly Aventon Aventure for fun and fitness.

My job involves a lot of virtual meetings, so a quality webcam, microphone, and ring light are important. I use the Jabra PanaCast 20 webcam, the Elgato Wave: 3 microphone, and a Yesker tripod ring light. 

As for my preferred phone platform, I'm an iPhone person, but I've also extensively used Android for product testing.

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