Bixby has never really been my smart home voice assistant, and I’m willing to bet that’s the same for most smart home enthusiasts. Like Apple’s Siri, Bixby is more of a nice-to-have for those who are already part of the broader Samsung ecosystem, and lagging behind in terms of features and functionality compared to the likes of Google Assistant and Alexa.
However, that could all change. During this week’s series of global launch events, Samsung announced that Bixby is about to get a lot smarter, thanks to Generative AI.
What does a beefed-up Bixby look like?
We don’t know much at this point, with only a brief Bixby segment during Samsung’s presentation, but it was enough to pique my interest. In addition to having natural conversations, the next generation of Bixby will be able to use Generative AI to understand multi-layer commands and retain contextual information to make your smart home run more smoothly.
To demonstrate this, Samsung explained that users can ask Bixby to “turn the AC to Wind-Free mode and let me know what the weather is like,” which typically requires two separate requests on most voice assistants.
Additionally, users can ask Bixby to “turn off the air purifier,” pause, and then continue with “oh, and the TV too,” with the voice assistant invoking the former request and applying context to the latter. to turn off the television.
Is this enough to save Bixby?
Since Bixby launched seven years ago, it hasn’t had an easy run. It has struggled to differentiate itself from Google Assistant, which is built into all Android phones, including the best Samsung phones, and as we’ve seen from Siri’s slow death, closed ecosystem assistants face a tough struggle in today’s world of connected devices, even with the rise of matter.
This news therefore comes as a surprise. Amazon’s Alexa is the only major voice assistant so far to confirm its upcoming generative AI capabilities, while Google appears to be more focused on the mobile experience for Google Assistant’s upcoming generative capabilities. The only significant intelligence boost Google Assistant has seen is the new Smart Home script editor.
While I don’t expect Apple to announce anything major before WWDC, with rumors swirling that Siri’s new AI may even surpass ChatGPT, do I’m surprised to see Samsung beat both Apple and Google to announce the Bixby boost so quickly.
Given how many of Samsung’s major devices are smart home compatible and come with Bixby built-in, this is not only significant in the battle of who can make the smartest voice assistant, but also a decisive move by the Korean conglomerate to stake its claim in the market to establish. smart home technology specifically.
None of Samsung’s main competitors are known for manufacturing devices, let alone smart ones. Samsung, on the other hand, is making extensive use of this capability, but they are expensive products that will take a while to reach the mass market.
Only time will tell which voice assistant will reach the top. And while I’m not quite ready to put my money on the underdog Bixby, it’s way too early to discount Samsung’s AI efforts.