Google has released an improved version of its speech software for its cloud customers, and is allowing them to use the software more widely. The software is used for tasks such as transcription and voice commands.
Google’s cloud clients now have full access to its speech recognition software
The latest version of the software is also more accurate.
Google, which makes most of its money from digital advertising and search, sees enterprise offerings like cloud services as a key driver of future revenue growth, but it lags behind competitors that have been in the cloud space longer, like Amazon and Microsoft.
The new version of Google’s speech software is another example of how Google is trying to be a more competitive cloud provider. It’s also another way to show off Google’s AI abilities in what is quickly becoming a technology arms race with Amazon, Facebook and Apple.
Google had released a beta version of the software before, but with certain restrictions. Companies could only use the technology in a limited number of products, or with a limited number of their customers. They can now use the software more widely.
The new version of the software is also faster, works with more file formats and transcribes audio more accurately, according to Google. In addition to transcription, the software is used to enable voice commands, such as on startup Navdy’s heads-up driving display, which users can control with their voice.
The improvements also mean greater efficiency for translation software when it relies on speech recognition.
For example, the translation features of Korea-based messaging app Hyperconnect should now work more quickly and with greater accuracy. Hyperconnect combines Google’s speech and translation softwares to automatically translate conversations between users speaking different languages.
This article originally appeared on Recode.net.
