Google just made your Android phone even smarter.
The American tech giant has announced a new upgrade for the Google Assistant that’ll allow you to seamlessly purchase cinema tickets on the fly.
Although many websites and apps are now superbly optimised for mobile, there are still a number of outliers that deliver a clunky experience. Without naming names, we’ve certainly tried to book cinema tickets on our phone in the past only to be met with software that simply isn’t optimised.
The Google Assistant is changing that. You can now use the clever helper to make cinema bookings without having to navigate frustrating menus from the cinema itself.
To leverage the new feature, you’ll need to either ask the Assistant to show movie times or simply search a similar query into the Google app. From there you’ll be presented with a list of films and times, choosing one will display a button allowing you to buy them with the Google Assistant.
Going forward with the process will load up a series of menus that display the same information as the native site (Odeon for example) but are much more intuitive and snappy.
Express.co.uk has tested the functionality ourselves and can confirm it’s not only useful, but so much more mobile friendly, too.
Of course you have all the options you’d expect, like the ability to meticulously choose your seats. Topping things off is the fact you can finish the transaction with Google Pay, so you won’t have to tediously enter any card details, either.
In a blog post discussing the update, Google said the new functionality is powered by its Duplex technology, the same that can make calls to restaurants for you to secure a booking.
The Mountain View firm explained: “Using our Duplex technology, the Google Assistant can already book your restaurant reservations over the phone. Now we’re extending that technology to complete tasks online, like buying movie tickets.
“On Android phones, the Assistant can now help you purchase movie tickets on the web. As you’re thinking about holiday activities for the family, ask the Assistant something like, ‘Hey Google, showtimes for [movie] in Phoenix this weekend.’ Or you can do a search for movie times from the Google app on Android.”
At the moment the new Assistant feature is limited, especially in the UK. British filmgoers can only leverage the new functionality for Odeon cinemas, meaning if your loyal to Cineworld or Vue you’re out of luck.
In the US, Android fans can use it with Fandango, MovieTickets.com, AMC, or MJR Theaters. In total, Google is claiming the new Assistant feature should work with over 70 cinemas.
The ability to seamlessly book films with the Google Assistant is available right now.
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