Google unveils AI assistant

Google unveiled Tuesday an artificial intelligence tool capable of handling routine tasks -- such as making restaurant bookings -- as a way to help people disconnect from their smartphone screens.

Kicking off the tech giant's annual developers conference, Google chief executive Sundar Pichai argued that its AI-powered digital assistant had the potential to free people from everyday chores.

Pichai played a recording of the Google Assistant independently calling a hair salon and a restaurant to make bookings -- interacting with staff who evidently didn't realize they were dealing with artificial intelligence software, rather than a real customer.

Tell the Google Assistant to book a table for four at 6:00 pm, it tends to the phone call in a human-sounding voice complete with "ums" and "likes," and sends you a message with the details.

"Our vision for our assistant is to help you get things done," Pichai told the conference in Google's hometown of Mountain View, California.

"It turns out that a big part of getting things done is making a phone call."

Google will be testing the digital assistant improvement in the months ahead.

"Many of us feel tethered to our phones and worry about what we'll miss if we're not connected. We want to help people find the right balance and gain a sense of digital wellbeing," Pichai said.