Google may be working on a native Assistant for Chrome OS

It appears Google is working on a native Assistant solution for Chrome OS users.

The upcoming Assistant implementation would use a web-based interface along with a native interface built into Chrome OS. This would replace the current system, which leverages the Android Assistant app.

The upcoming feature was initially discovered by Chrome Story, which found a new settings flag in Chrome Canary. Labelled ‘Enable Google Assistant,’ the flag was equipped with a description that said it enabled an experimental Assistant implementation that worked on “all Chromebooks.”

While impossible with the current implementation — not all Chromebooks can utilize Android apps — a native and web-based infrastructure could work on all Chromebooks.

Currently, it isn’t clear which parts of the Assistant interface will be native and which will be web-based. However, 9to5 Google discovered a web-based Assistant Settings page.

The page is hosted on the same domain as the recently discovered ‘Lists and Notes’ webpage. Unfortunately, it appears Google has removed the Lists and Notes page since we previously covered it.

For now, it looks like Google is still hard at work developing the new feature. However, unified, web-based Assistant settings could go a long way to helping users manage their Assistant across multiple devices.

Further, adding a native Assistant platform to Chrome could significantly extend both Chrome OS usability and Assistant’s audience.

Overall, I’m excited to see the Chrome OS Assistant in full — once it’s ready, of course.

Source: Chrome Story Via 9to5 Google