Next-generation Google Assistant is coming to new Pixel phones this year

A next-generation Google Assistant that can handle more complex tasks across apps - quickly switching from hailing a ride, to checking the weather and taking a selfie - is coming to new Pixel phones later this year.

An early demonstration of the more robust Google Assistant was shown Tuesday at Google I/O 2019, the company's annual developer conference.

A key feature is that users will no longer have to exclaim "Hey Google" for every question or task. Instead, a user can make a variety of requests after the initial "Hey Google" wake command.

During the demo, a Google employee on stage was able to use the voice assistant to craft a text message, quickly search photos of a trip, filter further to find animals photos, then add the image and send the message. In a subsequent task, the user verbally asked for flight information, added to the text and sent.

The next-gen Google Assistant will be able to compose and send emails as well.