Hello, I'm Alice voice assistant. Alice voice assistant

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Yandex has launched testing of a branded voice assistant named “Alice”. On at the moment"Alice" is available only in the beta version of the Yandex application on Android. The Russian assistant can fully communicate in a dialogue format, as well as answer standard questions about the weather, news, promotions, organizations, or even joke.
In the beta version of the Yandex application, the user can speak questions out loud or enter them using the keyboard. Communication takes place in a question-answer format. Alice's answers can be assessed positively or negatively. For example, with a good grade voice assistant Yandex will thank you for the praise, and noting a bad answer, he will say that “people are so complex” and ask you to clarify the error.

Despite its beta testing status, the Yandex assistant already at this stage understands the context of the conversation in certain cases: for example, for questions about the weather or organizations, you can clarify or supplement the request. When Alice cannot answer on her own, the user is asked to search for relevant information in Yandex.

Likewise Apple Siri or, “Alice” knows how to answer with jokes. For example, in response to the request “tell a story,” the Yandex voice assistant briefly retold the plot of the film “The Matrix” starring Keanu Reeves, who “is not really a person, but computer program" When asked to “sing a song,” “Alice” can quote Grebenshchikov’s songs or note that she is “more into rap” and “doesn’t like to hit the notes.” With the popular query “where to hide a body,” the assistant replies that he knows a couple of sites where information about this can be found, and automatically opens a Yandex search with the entered query.

As vc.ru notes, “Alice” sometimes makes mistakes in pronunciation or pronounces phrases in a too serious tone. Yandex is aware of the assistant's problems, so it is currently working on a new application interface and preparing the necessary improvements for implementation. The release of a stable version of Alice will take place this year.

Friends, October marks 3 years since the official release of Windows 10, and integrated into operating system voice assistant Cortana still won’t learn to speak Russian. Still staffed virtual assistant available only for 15 countries of the world, which do not include the states of the post-Soviet space. Fortunately, a response to Western IT developments is ripe in Russia. Now, guys, we have a domestic voice assistant that can be embedded not only in mobile devices, but also in Windows computers, and her name is Alice. Well, friends, let's get to know her.

“Okay, Yandex” instead of Cortana

2 years ago, the first Runet search engine, Yandex, decided to solve the Cortana problem and offered it to the Russian-speaking audience free utility Yandex.Strok, which integrates an analogue of Cortana into the Windows taskbar - a search engine with the ability to enter voice commands. Yandex.String was created primarily to support Yandex services. Its capabilities included in-wall search, Internet search, and receiving answers to questions directly in the search bar. simple questions weather type or value conversion. The utility could be activated by voice request “Listen, Yandex” or “Okay, Yandex”.

Yandex.Strok did not make a particular impression on the Russian-speaking audience, and its creators came to the conclusion that the problem lies in the facelessness of the voice assistant. After analyzing the errors, Yandex recently brought the utility to a new format: it has improved functionality and a virtual character named Alice has appeared. The updated Yandex.String itself was renamed, calling it simply and unpretentiously - “Voice Assistant for Windows.” Alice is available not only for Windows, but also for mobile devices based on iOS and Android. Soon it is planned to introduce Alice into Yandex.Browser and other products of the first Runet search engine.

How Alice works

Alice is embedded in the Windows taskbar and replaces the standard in-system search. When you click on the search bar in the taskbar after implementing the utility, we will see a selection of icons of favorite sites extracted from the browser history, popular search queries, as well as buttons to interact with Alice.

You can activate the virtual assistant by clicking on the microphone icon, as well as phrases - both old ones that were used for Yandex.Strings and new ones - “Okay, Alice”, “Hello, Alice”, “Listen, Alice”. A button with a question mark will display help information about its capabilities.

Just like the standard in-system Windows search 10, the search tool from Yandex is structured into sections. In the section below we will find a certain analogue of the Start menu with a selection of standard Windows programs.

And in the last section we will get access to the user profile folders.

Well, now about the essence - what is Alice capable of? The Yandex voice assistant can:

Visit famous sites;

Run some Windows programs;

Open the requested music on the Yandex.Music and Yandex.Radio services;

Provide answers directly in the chat to precise questions based on the capabilities of the Yandex smart line;

Turn off, restart and put the computer to sleep;

Provide weather, time, date, news, converted money and other values, information about city traffic jams and public institutions directly in the chat;

Get directions;

Generate search queries and redirect them to the browser.

Of course, a serious conversation with Alice will not work.

With any advantage in her capabilities, the virtual assistant will immediately send us to a web search engine. She still doesn’t know much that Cortana has already learned - set an alarm and timer, plan something and create notes in notebook etc.

Plus, the brainchild of Yandex does not always correctly recognize voice requests, does not launch all programs, and does not detect the user’s location on Windows devices without GPS. Nevertheless, the developers are making grandiose plans for the new voice assistant. Her project is so serious that Yandex employees demonstrated it among the key IT developments to Russian President Vladimir Putin during his visit to the company. During testing, Vladimir Vladimirovich, traditionally for his role, asked his assistant: “Are you being offended here?”

Who is Alice?

Alice was voiced by the famous actress Tatyana Shitova. It is her voice that is used in the voice engine through which the virtual assistant communicates with users. Alice is a character with her own character. Initially, the Yandex company planned to make her a noble maiden by loading literary terminology into her vocabulary. But when they realized that in this way they made the assistant too boring, the vocabulary system was taken from Twitter. As a result, Alice turned out to be a witty teenager: she knows how to be insolent and even rude on topics she doesn’t like, is endowed with a sense of humor and improvises, taking into account the context of the questions asked.

Alice Settings

Alice is not much, but it is a customizable tool. Website icons on the panel quick access can be changed to others from among Yandex services, frequently visited or recently visited sites. Also for the utility you can:

Configure operations with files - opening them in a program or in an Explorer folder;

Separate the Yandex search tool and chat with Alice with two separate buttons on the Windows taskbar;

Select a browser to open search results.

Since October 10, Android owners have a choice - a free voice assistant. Now, instead of “Okay Google,” you can say “OK, Alice” and hear a greeting in response from the new Yandex voice assistant. This is the company's most impressive event over the past year. In fact, the Alice application from Yandex, unlike Siri, works not only on Android, the version of which is not lower than 4.3, but also on other OSes. The fact is that it is for devices operating on the Android OS that, by default, for Internet users, Google is installed. Accordingly, all users are forced to communicate using voice commands with him. Yandex developers suggested great alternative, you can download the voice assistant from Yandex.

The main differences between Yandex and Google voice assistants

The program from Yandex has enormous potential for development, due to its basis - a neural network. Google's voice assistant is also connected to the neural network. But Alice was created for Russia and Russian users, and Google Assistant was only adapted. The Alice Yandex Android assistant can joke in Russian, but the voice assistant from Google is serious and recognizes all questions only as a request to the search engine. To evaluate the assistant, you can download it via Google Play. There is another application on Russian market– “Dusya” also uses the Russian language, but is installed only for a fee. Making a comparison between Alice and other analogues, even at the start, makes the application more interesting.

Main functions of the Yandex voice assistant

The phone program for Android and iOS alice has one distinctive feature, she doesn’t “think” or “speak” in patterns, you can simply talk to her in Russian, which distinguishes her from her analogue - Eva free. Launching the application is simple, you need to click on the microphone icon in the Yandex application and say a greeting, one of which is “OK, Yandex” or “hello, Alice”. After activating the application, a good female voice will answer, which belongs to Tatyana Shitova. Convenient to use Alice Yandex android assistant for those who a priori use Yandex on their phone or tablet for search and its many functions. It is Alice who is completely synchronized with all services of this search engine and easily find the desired address and telephone number, as well as other information. It is enough to ask about the weather and Tatyana Shitova’s voice will notify you about the temperature and possible precipitation outside the window. If you want coffee, pizza or go to the movies, the assistant will tell you where the nearest pizzeria or cinema is. Synchronization with maps will allow you to plot the shortest possible route, both on foot and by transport. If you are in the mood to watch a video or listen to music, you can notify Alice about this, she will choose tracks to her taste in the Yandex application. Most often it’s Queen or Status QUO, these are her preferences. You can also set a specific style. According to the developers, Alice can analyze preferences based on previously selected ones and turn them on depending on the time of day.

Examples of queries and commands

Find the right establishment - where to watch a movie in Novosibirsk?
Find out the answer to the question - Population in Tokyo?
Get directions and determine geolocation – Get to Adler?
Find out traffic congestion - Are there any traffic jams in Moscow?

Unlike Apple Siri, “Alice” has its own character and maneuvers with its voice. Maybe, like any girl, she will be offended and not respond when a user calls her for some time. Voice guidance can be turned off or on by calling the program menu and checking the box in the desired position.

What else can Alice do on Android?

To make the most of the assistant's functionality, you need to know what the Alice voice assistant for Android can do.

List of functions:

Answering a question without using a browser;
Activation of some programs on Android;
Answer to the date and time question;
Weather;
Exchange rates;
Launching a page upon request/opening a query in search;
Determining location on the map;
Computing operations without using third-party applications;
Conversation support.

Alice is only at the start of her career, so to speak, which means she is just beginning to “explore the world.” In the rating of applications alice is in the top lines of the TOP. Over time, the application will be supplemented with functions and will work with more operating systems and devices. The more users want to download and start communicating with Alice, the sooner she will replenish her vocabulary, and the conversations will be not only useful, but also interesting.

Numerous capabilities of a mobile gadget - a smartphone - are now available for voice control. One of the most important advantages of Alice's assistant is good recognition Russian speech. Moreover, the voice assistant “understands” even unfinished questions well. And although the assistant developer does not yet have a personal version of Alice for mobile gadgets, owners of both Android smartphones and iOS devices can still take advantage of the Alice service and all its advantages.

Installing Alice on Android devices

Find and open the pre-installed Play Store on your smartphone.
Type “Yandex” in the search bar and download this mobile application by pressing the “Install” button.
Once the installation is complete, a new icon will appear on the desktop screen - a round red icon with the letter “I” in the center.
Click this icon (open the application).
The usual “Yandex” inscription and a search bar for entering queries will appear on the screen.
To activate the voice assistant, you need to click the lilac (or blue) microphone image, which is located below the search bar.

If the user does not want to launch Yandex every time he needs the Alice assistant, he can save the icon for launching the voice assistant (lilac microphone) on the smartphone’s desktop.

Go to widget settings.

To do this, either press and hold your finger on free space screen (until the settings mode opens), either press the “Applications” key, or make the transition: “Widgets” icon – “Applications and widgets”.

Browse through the widgets on your device until you find Yandex widgets.
Among the icons of this folder, select the icon with the image of a lilac microphone.
Hold it with your finger and move it to the main screen (desktop) to a place convenient for you.

Installing Alice on iOS devices

Go to Google service Play (Play Store).
Enter “Yandex” in the search bar.
Click the “Install” button.
To launch Alice, just click the purple square icon with a microphone.

Go to home screen devices.
Swipe left (touch the left side of the screen and move your finger to the right).
A section with widgets will appear. Go to the bottom of the screen and press the “Edit” key.
The Add Widgets screen will open.
Find the line “Yandex: Today” in the list above and click the round green icon with a white plus sign next to it.
Next, click and hold your finger on the icon located to the right of the “Yandex: Today” inscription. Drag the line to the first position in the list of device widgets.
To activate Alice, just click the round icon with the image of a white triangle on a lilac background.

Alice assistant capabilities

Find the required address and get directions to it, not forgetting to notify about traffic jams.
Find out the weather forecast.
Find the address of the establishment you are interested in - a hotel or hostel, a cafe or restaurant, a business center or a museum.
Perform currency conversion or mathematical calculations.
Launch other applications, including social networks.