Target is the latest big-box retailer to pick sides in the war of voice assistants, and it's choosing Google.
Target shoppers across the continental U.S. can now order everything from toilet paper to children's clothing with the sound of their voice, Google announced Wednesday. Walmart, Home Depot, and Costco have already joined the tech giant as it competes with the Amazon Echo and its dominant market share.
Starting today, shoppers can yell out what they need from Target, and their Google Home device will have it shipped to their front door. It's similar to a voice-ordering system Walmart rolled out with Google earlier this year.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
More improvements on the process are expected in the next year, Google announced. Users will soon be able to link Target.com accounts and the store's proprietary REDCards directly to Google, as well as pick up orders in-store instead of waiting on a shipment.
The Google Home will also pick up on users' habits to make smart shopping choices. As Business Insider explained, if you tell Google Home to order shampoo and the device is linked to both Target and Walmart, it will know where you usually order shampoo from and choose that store.
Suburbanites, rejoice!
-
Sanae Takaichi: Japan’s Iron Lady set to be the country’s first woman prime ministerIn the Spotlight Takaichi is a member of Japan’s conservative, nationalist Liberal Democratic Party
-
‘Extraordinary asymmetry’: the history of Israeli prisoner swapsIn The Spotlight Exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian detainees is the latest in a series of trades in which Israeli lives appear to count for more
-
October 14 editorial cartoonsCartoons Tuesday's political cartoons include peace in Palestine, government playoffs, and barking up Pam Bondi's tree
-
Hungary’s Krasznahorkai wins Nobel for literatureSpeed Read László Krasznahorkai is the author of acclaimed novels like ‘The Melancholy of Resistance’ and ‘Satantango’
-
Primatologist Jane Goodall dies at 91Speed Read She rose to fame following her groundbreaking field research with chimpanzees
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
