Google is reportedly working on a new feature for the Assistant called Memory, a combination of a to-do list, a note app, a Pocket-style reading list and a Pinterest-style collection board in a single comprehensive digital cabinet integrated into the Wider Google Assistant App. 9to5Google first revealed the feature, which is currently undergoing dogfood tests for Google employees.
According 9to5Google, Memory can save a wide variety of content, including “articles, books, contacts, events, flights, hotels, images, movies, music, notes, photos, places, playlists, products, recipes, reminders, restaurants, screenshots screen, shipments, TV shows, videos and websites. ”
Although the Assistant already has a Memory feature to save information (such as a bicycle lock combination or a favorite cake flavor), the new Memory iteration appears to be an important update, which appears to integrate the “Collections” feature that preceded it and receive your main billing in the main menu bar next to the Assistant’s daily snapshot.
The idea is that you can save almost anything, including links or screenshots, images of objects or handwritten notes, or digital to-do lists or reminders. The memory will allow you to search, sort and revisit everything you have saved.
Depending on what you are saving, the Memory will also include contextual information: save a recipe, for example, and show the cooking time. Save a movie that you would like to watch and it will include a link to the trailer. And of course, the Google-based items you save (like Google Docs or files sent from Drive) will receive personalized preview cards.
To store things in memory, users can use a Google Assistant command or a shortcut just added to the home screen. Once added to memory, saved items can be marked (with categories such as “Important” or “Read later”), as well as sorted or searched for a specific item.
The memory is still being tested, and Google has not announced any plans for when – or even if – it will be released to the public. In a statement to The Verge, a Google spokesman commented, “We are constantly iterating and experimenting with new ways to improve the user experience, but we don’t have any more details to share right now.”