by Autofill and Chrome already do what Duplex does
Google Assistant is getting less useful this month. Google is discontinuing its Duplex-on-the-Web service, which allowed customers to book tickets or make reservations through a streamlined, wizard-guided interface that automatically integrated personal information from the user’s Google Account.
The company has confirmed this with a note on the associated Search Console help page and an expanded statement to TechCrunch.
As we continue to improve the Duplex experience, we’re responding to feedback we’ve received from users and developers about how we can make it even better […]By the end of the year, we will reject duplex on the web and fully focus on making AI advancements on the duplex voice technology that helps people the most every day.
Duplex on the Web was publicly tested back in 2019 with a number of partners, including AMC and Fandango, and marketed as a Google Assistant “live” service. It would allow users to interact with the site for proprietary actions such as selecting theater seats, but otherwise direct users through a dedicated interface that allows them to automatically enter personal information stored by Google into form fields. It was later enhanced with a password management feature that warns users when their credentials have been exposed. Partners for Duplex on the Web have been notified of the closure. This was a feature fork of the original Duplex service that Google launched in 2018, which sounds natural, but the automated voice concierge would book appointments and tables with local businesses over the phone on behalf of Google Assistant users. If we’re being completely honest, there are competing and even complementary services that do the jobs Duplex on the Web takes care of — from Google’s own autofill to Chrome’s built-in password leak detector of 2019 — without the need of a computer model for days and weeks must be trained. Sure, perhaps with enough time, investment, and care, Duplex on the Web could have acquired a uniquely useful automation, but with Google signaling that its priorities have shifted away from Assistant-branded services, it’s hard to see anything from Duplex doing that remains under the current economic regime. However, it’s not as big a loss as Stadia. Aside from the cloud streaming platform’s beta testing period, it will have lasted a day less than Duplex on the Web, assuming its last active day was November 30th.
