Google Now gets smarter with 'Now on Tap' feature

Google has added a new feature to its personal smart assistant. The new feature called 'Now on Tap' will basically lets Google Now be activated from any screen in contextual manner.

Aparna Chennapragada, Product Director for Google Now said that her team has focused on a three-prong approach for Now On Tap: understanding context, providing answers and helping users take action. She added "Developers don’t need to do anything to integrate with Now on tap as long as they have their apps indexed by Google."

With 'Now on Tap" you can simply tap and hold the home button for assistance without having to leave what you are doing - listening music, texting your friends or reading e-mail.

For instance, if your friend is mailing you about movie listing, you can tap on the movie name and hold on to the home button. Google now will bring up cards with all information and links you will need that are relevant to the movie. Information includes movie ratings, links to trailer, IMDB page, buy tickets and more. This basically lets you do simple tasks without leaving your current app.

Similarly, if you are chatting with a friend about going out to restaurant, Now on Tap will bring quick info of the restaurant your friend recommending. You can take actions such as make a call to reserve table, read reviews on supported app or look up location on a map.

Now on Tap is part of the upcoming Android M OS which will be released later this year.