We may have arrived a little later to the party than other countries but Google Assistant has launched and it’s supporting transactions on phones in Australia.

Online shopping is well and truly alive and kicking Down Under and Google is helping Australians to shop locally when speaking to its talkative smart assistant. Google Assistant is achieved thanks to Google’s Transactions API. The new service allows shoppers to make purchases via Google Assistant, which are then charged to the credit card attached to the Google Account. If users choose to share their private information, retailers are also able to access delivery address details and calculate shipping costs automatically.

Before an order is placed, the shopper has the opportunity to confirm or reject the order. Once it’s all confirmed, a receipt appears in the shopper’s Assistant order history. From there, the API also gives the customer an additional option to create an account on a business’ webpage who they’ve just purchased from or to re-order a selection of their favourite items. Pretty seamless experience, hey!?

But wait, there’s more…

If allowing people to purchase at the click of a button wasn’t enough, Transactions API can also handle reservations and appointments. Forget having to call a restaurant to make that booking or lock in your next haircare appointment!

As far as consumers go, the benefits are crystal clear but what about for businesses? Transactions API means businesses of all sizes can access Google’s smart ecosystem without having to build any kind of payment platforms themselves. In terms of the reservations and appointments side of things, Google Assistant paves the way for Australian businesses to offer advanced services to customers - again, without having to build their own platforms.

Initially, Google Assistant is available on Android and iOS devices with the service arriving on Google Assistant powered smart speakers soon. A word of caution if you’ve got kids: Google hasn’t figured out how to restrict purchases on their smart speakers to select people so if your kids are known to get friendly with your credit card, have a plan in place!

While there aren’t any apps in Australia using Google Assistant at the moment, watch this space! You can bet the likes of Domino’s Pizza and a range of other similar companies are likely to see the value in Google Assistant pretty quickly and jump on the bandwagon.

Keen to learn more about Google Assistant? Contact our friendly team at Woven HQ today.