LG and Microsoft's new voice assistant lets you interrupt mid-sentence
LG and Microsoft's new voice assistant lets you interrupt mid-sentence
LG Electronics has partnered with Microsoft to develop an AI voice assistant for smart homes, unveiled at the Microsoft Industry Summit in Seoul. The assistant will be integrated into LG's ThinQ ON hub, promising conversations that feel less like talking to a machine and more like chatting with a person.
At the heart of this system is Speech to Speech intelligent agent technology, combined with Microsoft's Voice Live capabilities. Unlike traditional voice assistants that force you to wait for a response to finish before you can speak again, this new assistant supports interruptions. You can cut in anytime with a new question or command, and the system will immediately stop its previous answer, grasp your new intent, and smoothly switch gears. That might not sound like much, but it solves a long-standing annoyance: rigid back-and-forth exchanges that struggle when you change your mind mid-sentence.
Launch this year, expanding to B2B
LG says the Voice Live-equipped ThinQ ON will hit the market within this year. Existing ThinQ ON users will also get the capability through a software update. But LG isn't just eyeing your living room. Hotels, offices, and retail stores are also on the target list. With smart speaker sales flattening and companies racing to offer "truly usable" conversation experiences, LG's move to leverage Microsoft's model capabilities is a clear play for both home and commercial markets.
Key Points
- LG and Microsoft unveil a smart home voice assistant that supports mid-conversation interruptions.
- The assistant will be integrated into LG's ThinQ ON hub, launching later this year.
- Existing ThinQ ON users will receive the feature via update.
- LG plans to expand the technology to commercial spaces like hotels, offices, and retail stores.
- The system uses Speech to Speech tech and Microsoft's Voice Live to enable more natural interactions.