Google has decided to let the general public test its virtual assistant, able to make phone calls and have a conversation with the same ease as a human. A new demonstration makes it possible to discover the astonishing fluidity of the system and how it removes any ambiguity on the nature of the interlocutor.

New announcements

Last May at its annual conference, Google unveiled a new artificial intelligence called Duplex, capable of making phone calls on your behalf with an almost human voice to book a restaurant or make an appointment at the hairdresser. The technology had impressed, but it had also raised concerns and questions about the possible drifts of an AI posing as a human.

Google has therefore launched a communication campaign to explain how it works and the precautions are taken. In the coming weeks, some carefully selected testers and companies in the United States will be able to use Duplex. Initially, the software will only be able to make calls to confirm opening hours, especially for the national holiday of 4 July. During a second phase which will open during the summer, these testers will be able to ask the assistant to book restaurants or hair salons.

The AI can introduce itself to its interlocutor

This announcement is accompanied by a new demonstration of how Google Duplex works. Once again, we can see the fluidity and the natural tone of the synthetic voice which are much superior to what we know with Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant. During the conversation, we see how the software manages the pause times between responses, plays on intonations and even punctuates its lines with onomatopoeias. Realism is disturbing.

To remove any ambiguity, Google has set up a straightforward device. At the beginning of each call, after greeting the caller, the AI introduces itself by indicating that it is the Google Duplex calling to book and that the automated call will be recorded. In case of difficulty, human operators may take over to end the conversation. Google has not yet set a precise when this new thrilling tool will be available.

Advantages offered by the Cloud

Much more than a simple gadget, Cloud technology allows data, staff, and skills to be centralized on the internet. At a time when renting space and recruiting employees is becoming more and more expensive for small businesses, the Cloud is making life easier for professionals.

It is now possible for both public and private organizations to back up all their documents without fear of a hard drive imploding or a USB key being lost. With the Cloud, all machines, networks, and software are grouped together via a single medium that can be consulted by all authorized persons. The simplified diagram of this organization then takes the form of a cloud. By further explaining the strengths of the Cloud for businesses, it becomes mandatory to discuss the benefits of its contact centres.

Your company becomes universal

Email reception, telephone calls and other heavy and repetitive tasks are now taken in charge by contact centres located in the Cloud. The total flexibility of these invisible structures allows you never to wonder about a forgotten extension or feature. If your contacts multiply in record time or if you need your employees to be close to you 24 hours a day, the Cloud infrastructures will allow you to adapt very quickly.

The main point of this is the chance for companies to save money through dematerialization. In fact, only the services requested are invoiced and requests can be highly personalized. Cloud contact centres do not limit themselves to basic tasks and use their exponential power to offer new contributions such as call tracking which will make it possible to offer a follow-up of all incoming telephone calls, coming from offline and online sources.

The Cloud contact centre solution will, therefore, become the monopoly in this field considering all the skills that can be gathered in this cloud. By allowing you to increase or reduce the sail area according to your needs in real time, Cloud contact centres are more than just a new offer since they represent the only solution of the future for all kind of professionals.

The need to have secure and safe web browsing is more than a mere luxury. Nevertheless, there are still people who think that it is the not the best thing to do for their businesses and online users. Google has decided to start penalizing websites that are not interested in providing their users with a safe online experience.

Over the last few months, the number of websites that are going HTTPS or secure has significantly grown. However, there are still some websites that don’t see secure browsing as an absolute necessity. Their reason might be that it takes a lot of time or that they actually don’t need it.

HTTPS has come a long way. The old days where it would slow down the performance of your website or where it was difficult to deploy are long gone. Today, you are socially and legally responsible for securing the data of the people who are visiting your website. Moreover, using HTTPS will boost your SEO performance and help you access new features that will improve the overall performance of your website. If you are still not convinced, then the penalties will help change your mind. It is time to take an action.

Web hosting services are versatile and adaptable. You can choose the adequate disk space and bandwidth depending on the type of the business, the size of the business and your budget. There are too many choices that can help you pick the right plan for you.

But when do you need to reconsider your web hosting plan? Here are some features to take into consideration:

• Your load times: A page that loads faster gives users a better experience. If your pages are taking too much time to load, then you need to invest in a different type of hosting.
• Too many websites on one server: This is an affordable option especially if you are still launching your website. But as you add more features and your website and as it becomes more complicated, having too many websites working on the same server will affect your performance.
• Peak-time performance: If your website’s performance declines significantly during peak times, then you have outgrown your web hosting plan. It is time to opt for a new one.

In all cases, you should weigh the costs versus the benefits to see if it is time to upgrade your web hosting plan or not.