Back at Google I/O last year, the search giant showed off a voice search functionality on Chrome for the desktop along with what we know now as "OK Google" command. This functionality was rolled out as a Chrome extension in 2013, but now it is being made as a feature inside Chrome itself.
According to a Google announcement, the company's voice search capability, is part of the latest Chrome beta update that will be available soon. Google plans to roll out the new Chrome beta to Windows, Mac and Linux users over the next several days. In addition, support for Google's Chrome OS will come at a later date.
"If you've ever tried to cook and search at the same time-say, when your hands are covered in flour and you need to know how many ounces are in a cup-you know it can be tricky. With the latest Chrome Beta, you can search by voice on Google-no typing, clicking or hand-washing required. Simply open a new tab or visit Google.com in Chrome, say "Ok Google," and then start speaking your search. This will be rolled out to English (U.S.) users on Windows, Mac and Linux over the next few days, with support for additional languages and Chrome OS coming soon," says Google via its blog.
The Chrome extension was a good idea, and was very fun to use, but only for a short time. Soon after, it became apparent that it wasn't very useful since users are required to visit the Google search page to activate voice search. This means it became very apparent that typing in the Omnibox is the best and quickest way to search.
If Google really wants to put voice search front and center, it needs to make it possible for users to use the service directly from the search box within the browser, instead of visiting Google search each and every time.
From the demonstration we've seen, it appears this problem still persists. Expect many to try it out for a short period of time, then moving on back to the old way of doing this, as it is faster and more productive.
