Mozilla has just released a new feature. It is a tool for controlling the Firefox web browser which is done by voice commands. At first glance, Firefox Voice is similar to what the big names in tech offer with their personal assistant such as Siri, Google Assistant or Alexa, but here, the virtual assistant is limited to Firefox.
With Firefox Voice, users will be able to both research, manage tabs, and also control multimedia content such as Netflix or YouTube. The Firefox virtual assistant tends to be a real assistant since it allows you to perform translations, copy / paste text, answer questions and more.
During the development phase, Firefox Voice is only available in English and only on the desktop version of the web browser. The assistant could be compatible with other languages and platforms in the coming months, if its development goes as it should.
It is still possible to take advantage of it now: just download the extension and install it on your web browser. Once done, a new microphone symbol will appear on the browser navigation bar. Just click on it to launch the wizard. The CTRL + shortcut. doesn't seem to be working yet.
Still limited orders
“Go to Facebook” or “Play Miami by Will Smith on YouTube” commands work perfectly, even if it takes the assistant a few seconds to record, understand and respond to the command. As for other possible commands, including asking questions about general knowledge or translating a page, Firefox Voice does not yet seem able to answer them.
It should also be noted that for the moment Firefox Voice is based on the Google Speech service, in other words all the voice commands that you will send to the Firefox assistant will be submitted to Google for their processing. Mozilla still specifies that Google does not save any recordings.
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