4 ms·

Spammy Google Home spouts audio ads without warning

23 points by ghosh 10y ago

bubblethink 10y ago
People are outraged because audio ads sound a lot more intrusive than visual ones. Google can seamlessly show ads on the web, but not so much on speakers. There's also a bigger shock because people presumably anthropomorphize the assistant and think of this as a betrayal. Everyone is trying to sell you stuff through these assistants. Maybe people don't want sales assistants.
blaisio 10y ago
Wow, I like my Google Home, but if I heard something like this, I think I would return it immediately. And a lot of other people would too. It's supposed to be a neat tool, not an advertising platform. This would basically be the equivalent of a Pixel phone showing a random ad on the home screen after you sign in. That would also make me return my phone if it were to happen.
- shakna 10y ago
  And yet many haven't returned their Windows laptops after W10 started.
SerLava 10y ago
I was considering buying one of these to play with. Not anymore. That is sheer lunacy.
elkos 10y ago
Is this a trend to "normalize" ads as Alt-content? It's a pity we don't have any ad blockers and for Conversational assistants.
bobsam 10y ago
I feel someone with authority should ask Google about their official stance on this. For both current and future products. When I buy a device, I want to know up front if I will be seeing ads. If someone wants to take my money and feed me ads I normally take my business elsewhere.
Odenwaelder 10y ago
"We’re continuing to experiment with new ways to surface unique content for users ..." -- Yeah, right. This was totally an ad.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
DocTomoe 10y ago
I wonder if this was, in fact, an ad. "By the way, it's Groundhog day today" or "By the way, [random interesting fact about the current date]" seems more like an inprovement. I suspect that Google just somehow entangled 2017-03-18 with that movie release date, and people started to wonder if Gogole was somehow paid to do that.
breakingcups 10y ago
Several fiasco's with the Nest, Glass and now this have convinced me never to buy a Google appliance anymore.

23 points by ghosh 10y ago

People are outraged because audio ads sound a lot more intrusive than visual ones. Google can seamlessly show ads on the web, but not so much on speakers. There's also a bigger shock because people presumably anthropomorphize the assistant and think of this as a betrayal. Everyone is trying to sell you stuff through these assistants. Maybe people don't want sales assistants.

blaisio 10y ago

Wow, I like my Google Home, but if I heard something like this, I think I would return it immediately. And a lot of other people would too. It's supposed to be a neat tool, not an advertising platform. This would basically be the equivalent of a Pixel phone showing a random ad on the home screen after you sign in. That would also make me return my phone if it were to happen.

shakna 10y ago
And yet many haven't returned their Windows laptops after W10 started.

SerLava 10y ago

I was considering buying one of these to play with. Not anymore. That is sheer lunacy.

elkos 10y ago

Is this a trend to "normalize" ads as Alt-content? It's a pity we don't have any ad blockers and for Conversational assistants.

bobsam 10y ago

I feel someone with authority should ask Google about their official stance on this. For both current and future products. When I buy a device, I want to know up front if I will be seeing ads. If someone wants to take my money and feed me ads I normally take my business elsewhere.

Odenwaelder 10y ago

"We’re continuing to experiment with new ways to surface unique content for users ..." -- Yeah, right. This was totally an ad.

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

DocTomoe 10y ago

I wonder if this was, in fact, an ad. "By the way, it's Groundhog day today" or "By the way, [random interesting fact about the current date]" seems more like an inprovement. I suspect that Google just somehow entangled 2017-03-18 with that movie release date, and people started to wonder if Gogole was somehow paid to do that.

breakingcups 10y ago

Several fiasco's with the Nest, Glass and now this have convinced me never to buy a Google appliance anymore.