Virtual voice assistants are designed to simplify our interaction with devices and services. Instead of wandering around the GUI looking for the right menu item, you can simply command in natural language “Play music” or “Give us weather forecast.” The ideal assistant must correctly understand the command and execute it.
The technologies that underlie such assistants are still far from perfect, but they can already impress. You might have seen them in action if you used Google Assistant, Cortana or Siri. Now let's see what "", which recently settled in the Yandex application, can please us with.
Speech synthesis and recognition
Although you can easily hear artificial notes in the assistant’s voice, it sounds much more natural than its closest competitor, the Russian-language version of Siri. Actress Tatyana Shitova was hired to voice “Alice.” By the way, it was in her voice that the operating system spoke in the film “Her.”
In terms of recognizing Russian speech, the Yandex assistant also has no equal; errors are relatively rare. In addition, the assistant not only recognizes phrases, but also learns to interpret them correctly. Therefore, you can use different wording and ask subsequent questions in the context of the previous ones - most likely, the service will understand you:
But mistakes in interpreting queries are still common among all voice assistants, and Alice is no exception:
Integration with Yandex services
Another important feature of Alice, which the creators emphasize, is convenient integration with other Yandex services.
For example, ask your assistant to play a song, and it will play in Yandex.Music. Request a translation of a phrase into another language - the assistant will open “Yandex.Translator”:
Alice can also display the weather forecast and build routes thanks to the weather service and Yandex maps. And if you need to find something on the Internet, Yandex.Search will help.
Interaction with third party programs
As for integration with third-party applications and services on mobile devices, Alice is not doing so well.
The assistant can be installed on Android and iOS, but so far Alice makes little use of the capabilities of these platforms. So, with its help you won’t even be able to quickly set an alarm, add a reminder or note. But Siri can easily cope with these tasks.
Although Alice can open programs installed on the device upon request, this function does not always work. For example, the assistant launches VKontakte and Telegram without any problems, but if you ask him to open Viber, then instead of the application the assistant will direct you to the website of this messenger. The assistant reacts strangely to the command “open calculator”.
In addition, to contact Alice, you must first log into the Yandex application and click on the assistant button (or use the shortcut for quick access if you have Android). This is not very convenient, because one of the main tasks of a voice assistant is to allow you to control the device without your hands. The same Siri, due to deep integration with iOS, can receive commands even when the screen is locked.
"Alice" on the computer
Yandex Assistant is also available for computers running Windows as a separate program. After installing it, a search bar and a button for voice interaction with the assistant appear on the taskbar.
In addition to the functions presented in the mobile version, Alice for Windows can search for files on the hard drive, launch desktop programs, turn off the computer or put it into sleep mode.
Artificial intelligence is no longer a fantasy from the Science Fiction section on the third shelf. Robots have long been infiltrating people's homes under the guise of smart speakers and mobile applications for smartphones. In recent years, multinational companies have made significant progress in the development of AI. Electronic assistants have become much more capable, and now manufacturers are having fun pitting them against each other, trying to figure out which voice assistant is smarter.
The most intelligent of the electronic assistants is Siri - which is not surprising, because Apple has been perfecting the program for 6 years. Siri is a favorite among domestic users because it perfectly understands and speaks Russian. However, users of Android devices need not despair - they can also download voice assistants that speak Russian to their smartphones. After reading this article, you will get acquainted with the best voice assistants for Android.
Price: Free
About the famous phrase “OK, Google!” there are a huge number of jokes, but it is with its help that one of the most skillful voice assistants for Android is launched -. This program is free; the owner of an Android device does not need to download and install it - the Google Now shortcut automatically appears on the screen of the mobile device as soon as it is updated to Android 4.1.
Google Now can also be used on an iOS gadget. To do this, you need to download the Google application from the AppStore.
The main advantage of Google Now is its integration with all other services from Google. A user, for example, can make a voice request in the Google Chrome browser or dictate a note in Google Keep. You can also use your voice to set an alarm clock, activate a timer or stopwatch, find an event in the calendar, create an SMS message and send it to the subscriber whose number is listed in the telephone directory. On modern versions of Android, Google Now is also integrated with third-party applications, such as Telegram and What’s App messengers.
Unfortunately, Google Now's Siri functionality is still a long way off - the search giant's intelligent assistant is capable of performing a relatively small number of voice commands. A complete list of these commands is available on the official Google website.
Dusya
Price: Free
The main feature of the Russian-language intellectual assistant “Dusya” is the complete absence of an interface. The assistant constantly works in the background and does not take up a single inch of the mobile gadget’s screen. You can launch the “Dusya” application by voice, wave, shake, and many other ways.
The program developers emphasize to users that “Dusya” is not a chat bot that will flirt with the user and tell him jokes a la Siri. “Dusya” carries out the commands for which it has been trained - in particular, at the voice request of the owner of the gadget, she is able to plot a route on a map, dial a number written in the phone book, find music on the social network VKontakte, write a message in What's App, translate any simple phrase in several languages. The most important thing is that the list of commands that “Dusya” understands is not final; it is constantly being updated. Each user is able to offer his own idea on how to make “Dusya” smarter on a special forum.
The disadvantages of the Dusya program include the fact that it is paid. The user is given a week to get acquainted with the intellectual assistant; after this period, he will have to purchase a subscription for 299 rubles.
Yandex Alice
Price: Free
One of the best voice assistants operating in Russian. This application responds most adequately to the user’s Russian-language phrases. Moreover, the program was created more for entertainment than for real benefit. No, “Alice” is quite capable of telling you what the weather is like outside the window, or getting directions to the right place, but first of all, this voice assistant is intended for all kinds of games. In particular, with “Alice” you can play “Cities”, “Guess the Actor”, “Guess the Song” and various other games. And the process can be seriously exciting!
It must be remembered that the voice assistant was developed by the most popular search engine in Russia. This means that the application best copes with the functions that are most often used by visitors to the Yandex website. For example, “Alice” will instantly tell you the exchange rate of a certain currency to the ruble. It will not be difficult for the program to recalculate a certain amount of dollars, converting it into Russian currency. In general, the easiest way to use a voice assistant is as a converter. Or an adviser - “Alice” may well recommend some establishment to visit, be it a restaurant, theater, entertainment club or cinema.
Many users like to learn about “Alice” herself. It should be noted that the voice assistant behaves like a real woman. That is, the application can start flirting or speaking in riddles at any moment. In the end, you begin to be convinced that this assistant has logic. Women's logic.
Robin
Price: Free
The Robin application is considered the best voice assistant for the driver. The driver will not have to take his hands off the steering wheel to write an SMS message, make a call or check the weather forecast. The intelligent assistant copes well with tasks such as searching for current news and checking unread messages on social networks.
Divisions of two search giants – Google Moscow and Yandex Labs – contributed to the Russification of the Robin assistant. The results exceeded expectations: “Robin” speaks Russian as if it were his native language.
The highlight of the Robin intelligent assistant is its extraordinary sense of humor. The assistant is always ready to please the motorist with an anecdote, and in terms of funny answers it will outperform even Apple’s Siri. The marketers of Audioburst, which distributes Robin, are also funny guys, because otherwise they certainly would not have been able to create such a masterpiece trailer:
Okay, Notepad!
Price: Free
Functionality of the application “Okay, Notepad!” It’s not large—it can’t be called a full-fledged intellectual assistant. Creating notes and reminders by voice is all that the “Okay, Notepad!” application allows the user. Judging by the fact that the program has excellent ratings and a lot of positive reviews on Google Play, it copes with its modest task with a 5+.
Application developer D. Lozenko notes that “Okay, Notepad!” is an analogue of the once popular mobile program “Remember Everything”. Now the “Remember Everything” application is abandoned, so there are no sensible alternatives to “Notepad” on Google Play.
Functionality of the program “Okay, Notepad!” can be expanded a little by installing plugins. For example, with the help of additional software you can add synchronization with Google tasks.
Google Assistant
Price: Free
Quite quickly, Google moved from developing Now to creating Assistant. The first project is now considered closed, while the second is actively developing. However, this voice assistant can interact with Google Now, actively retrieving information from there.
Like some other modern assistants, Google Assistant is capable of participating in two-way dialogue, understanding normal spoken language. And for some time now, the application has begun to act in the manner of Shazam, recognizing songs playing nearby.
The assistant of the world-famous search engine stores all dialogues with the user on its server. This program is designed for self-development and searching for key concepts. Gradually, the assistant adapts more and more to the person’s speech style, developing a wide base of answers.
Unfortunately, Google Assistant is currently only available on flagship smartphones. In particular, LG V30, G6, Oppo R11, and some others are supported. But Russians who own the above devices will not be able to download the application in any case. This is due to the fact that the voice assistant does not support the Russian language. That is, you can install the program only if you change the operating system language to English. However, in the spring of 2018, at least a test version of the application received support from the great and mighty. It is possible that the main version of the assistant will speak Russian very soon.
Price: Free
Amazon has perhaps the largest number of Internet servers in the world. It would be a shame not to use such disk space to process some serious tasks. That is why one day the Amazon Alexa voice assistant was born. At that time, this was the only assistant that not only answered the user’s memorized phrases, but talked to him.
The assistant gets access to a variety of smartphone functions. It is easy for him to change the brightness of the screen backlight, play a song or call someone. It is also capable of drawing content from a variety of online services, and these do not necessarily have to be branded projects from Amazon.
Alexa is now considered the smartest voice assistant. The application works mainly on flagship devices, and even then not on all of them. Basically, the voice assistant was created for smart speakers - separate devices purchased for installation in the living room or somewhere in the kitchen. Unfortunately, this assistant doesn’t want to speak Russian either. If we remember the limited resources of the American company Amazon, then we can hardly expect the appearance of the Russian language before 2020.
Voice assistants on PC
The computer can also be controlled using a virtual assistant - although, alas, only a few users know about this. The Windows 8 operating system includes a built-in utility called Windows Speech Recognition, which is activated through the Control Panel. Windows 10 is equipped with a full-fledged intelligent assistant, Cortana, capable of performing a lot of tasks based on the user’s voice requests - searching and running files on the computer, making notes and notes in the calendar, setting up the system.
Unfortunately, Windows Speech Recognition and Cortana have a big common flaw: they don’t understand Russian and don’t speak it. Cortana as of 2017 speaks only 6 languages: English, Chinese, German, Italian, Spanish and French. Naturally, over time, Cortana will master Russian and other languages - however, no one knows how long domestic users will have to “wait for the weather by the sea.” Therefore, for now, it’s worth turning to third-party voice assistants for computers - fortunately, there are options. Here are just a few of those that support the Russian language:
- “Gorynych” is an assistant who speaks both Russian and English. “Gorynych” is capable of performing, using voice commands, any operations for which the user usually uses a mouse and keyboard. The problem with Gorynych is that it recognizes speech very mediocrely - if the owner of the PC suddenly becomes hoarse, the voice assistant will simply stop understanding him.
- “Agregat” is an intelligent assistant for PC from the creators of the aforementioned “Dusya”. The developers claim that Aggregate is much better than Cortana for a number of reasons: Firstly, “Agregat” understands Russian, Secondly, it installs on any operating system (be it OSX, Windows or Linux), Thirdly, users can increase the functionality of the “Unit” by installing additional modules. But in the case of “Agregat”, again, there is a “fly in the ointment”: the program is still at the alpha testing stage, so download it just If you fail, you will have to join a special Google + community and submit a request to receive a copy of the assistant files.
- Typle is a simple utility for Windows 7, 8 and 10. Typle's functionality is very limited: the program can open files and applications, but it is not capable of, say, controlling a music player.
Conclusion
Soon, owners of Android gadgets will not have to think about which voice assistants to equip their smartphones with. Back in February, Google announced its intention to replace the outdated Google Now on all Android devices with the more modern Google Assistant. It will be possible to “upgrade” the voice assistant not only to Android 7.0 Nougat, but also to version 6.0 Marshmallow. Google Assistant does not yet speak Russian, but it will definitely be available soon – Google representatives announced this at I/O 2017.
Yandex is gaining more and more popularity. Now the assistant can be downloaded not only on Android, iOS, but also on Windows. Owners of personal computers and laptops can take advantage of the benefits of Alice. In this article you will find instructions on how to download to a PC, you can also read more about working with the assistant.
Alice in Yandex Browser
The Alice voice assistant from Yandex does not yet have its own application; the “beta version” is built into Yandex Browser. System requirements for installing Alice Yandex: computer, laptop with Windows 7 - 10 operating system (not supported for older versions). You can absolutely use this voice assistant for free.
Download Yandex Browser without Alice
For those who do not want to use Alice on a computer, we recommend either this program in your Yandex Browser. You can also find earlier versions of Yandex Browser on the Internet, released before the official release of Alice, i.e. until November 2017. We do not recommend installing older versions of the browser due to possible vulnerabilities and inaccuracies in operation, but if you still decide to go this route, check the installation file using an antivirus to avoid infecting your PC.
Install Alice on your computer for free in Russian.
To download the new Alice on PC you need:
- download YA browser with YA Alice installed from the official website or go to the official website and download manually https://alice.yandex.ru/windows ;
- click “Install”, launch and install (install file size 15 MB);
- After the installation is complete, “Search in Yandex and on your computer” will appear on the Windows taskbar, at the bottom left, near the “Start” button.
- file search,
- enabling desktop programs (Skype, Paint...),
- turn off or put the computer into sleep mode.
How to update Alice on PC
For the assistant to work correctly, you need to update Alice to the latest version. Updates to your computer and other devices are free.
Friends, in October it will be 3 years since the official release of Windows 10, and the voice assistant Cortana integrated into the operating system still will not learn to speak Russian. Until now, a full-time virtual assistant is 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
The first Runet search engine, Yandex, set out to solve the Cortana problem 2 years ago and offered the Russian-speaking audience a 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 getting answers to simple questions like weather or converting values directly in the search bar. 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, you will see a selection of icons of favorite sites extracted from the browser history, popular search queries, as well as buttons for interacting 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.
Like the regular in-system search of Windows 10, the search tool from Yandex is structured by sections. In the section below we will find some 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 to precise questions directly in the chat 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 how to do a lot of things that Cortana has already learned - set an alarm and timer, plan something and create notes in a 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. Site icons on the quick access panel can be changed to others from 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.
For people with disabilities, as well as simply for sybarites, OS developers have created voice control of the computer. It allows the user to enter information using their voice. After pronouncing certain words, the device begins speech recognition - converting the audio signal into digital information. After the entered information is correctly recognized, the program proceeds to the specified action algorithm - performs the function that is attached to a particular command.
Everything is quite simple. Speech is not always recognized correctly, so the computer voice control program is not intensively used to solve complex problems of operating system management. It is used to perform basic functions: opening and closing files, local and network search, etc.
History of voice control development
- The first voice recognition system, Audrey, was created in the 50s of the twentieth century. She deciphered only numbers spoken in one voice.
- In 1962, the first word recognition system was created. She deciphered 15 English words.
- With the development of computers, the Dragon Dictate program was developed in 1990. It recognized up to 100 words per minute, but was expensive.
- In the early 2000s, the Google Voice Search speech recognition application appeared on the iPhone. In 2010, a search system was added to Android.
- Siri was included in the Phone 4S software in early October 2011;
- Cortana, a voice assistant for Windows, was introduced in 2014.
Cortana and voice input capabilities today
Cortana is a virtual assistant in the Windows operating system. The service helps the user in planning tasks and reminds them of them.
For a specific request, the service will help to collect specific information, create a clear structure and present it to the user in the most processed form possible.
It’s interesting that immediately when turned on, the virtual assistant collects all the information about entered requests and personal data, trying to adapt as much as possible to each individual user.
Voice control of a Windows 7 computer through the use of a virtual assistant is impossible - it is integrated only into the tenth version. But, unfortunately, the developers did not bother to release a Russian-language version.
The main role is played by search, which in 10 can be opened through “Start”. This function detects almost any requests. If the entry is not recognized, you can enter the appropriate command into the pop-up window and the computer voice control program reads the text information. 
The unpleasant thing is that it collects all the data entered via the keyboard and sends it to Microsoft.
Third party programs
Type
After the installation is completed, proceed to the next step - create an account. Here you need to come up with a key phrase, after which an activation notification will sound. 
Next you will need to come up with and create voice commands, regardless of their purpose. The "dog" command can launch an application or perform a completely different action. 
You just need to create a voice command and assign it to a specific action. Suitable only for performing basic operations - opening files, folders, etc. The functionality is limited.
Speaker
The functionality here is wider than in Typle. 
Voice control of a Windows 10 computer gives the user the ability to open and close files, take screenshots, and turn off the PC. 
Speech recognition takes quite a long time, over 3-4 seconds. This is due to the fact that speech is first converted into text, and commands are recognized by the computer from text information.
Laitis
This is a free program that allows you to both control your PC and dictate text. After installation, you need to register and then you can use it for your pleasure. 
The autocorrect function when typing is interesting. You can say "Quotes" and the corresponding symbol will appear in the text.
Voice control capabilities via Yandex.string
By using this application, you can perform local or network searches for information and files, restart or shut down your computer. There is a function to open programs and sites.
To use the program, you must first download and install it. 
But during installation, you should uncheck the boxes next to the items where the software manufacturer suggests installing a browser and changing its settings. Otherwise, the installation will take longer and the configuration in the browser will change.
Ultimately, the line is placed near the Start button. Say “Listen to Yandex” and a window will open. 
Speak out the request. 
After a pause, a search bar will open in the browser. It's fun to manage your search this way.
In general, voice control of a computer has not yet been developed, as it is only in our imagination. But the functions that are available today are already impressive and significantly help to move to a new level of PC use.
Have a great day!
