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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 a smart home voice assistant that finally lets you interrupt. The two companies showcased the new assistant at the Microsoft Industry Summit in Seoul's Gangnam District. It will debut on LG's ThinQ ON smart home hub later this year.

A Conversation That Flows Naturally

At the heart of the system is Speech to Speech intelligent agent technology, paired with Microsoft's Voice Live capabilities. Unlike traditional voice assistants that follow a rigid question-and-answer pattern—where you have to wait for the assistant to finish speaking before you can say anything—this new assistant supports interruptions. You can jump in with a new topic at any time. The system immediately stops its previous response, grasps your new intent, and smoothly shifts the conversation. This design tackles a long-standing frustration with voice assistants: their stiff, scripted responses and their difficulty adapting when users change their minds mid-conversation.

Launching This Year, Expanding Beyond the Living Room

LG says the Voice Live-equipped version of ThinQ ON will roll out within this year. Existing ThinQ ON users will also get the feature through a software update. But LG isn't stopping at the living room. The company is targeting commercial spaces too—hotels, offices, and retail stores are all on the list. With smart speaker growth plateauing and competition heating up over who can deliver a "truly usable" conversation experience, LG's move to leverage Microsoft's model capabilities signals a clear ambition to secure a spot in both home and commercial markets.

Key Points

  • LG and Microsoft have jointly developed a smart home voice assistant that supports mid-conversation interruptions.
  • The assistant uses Speech to Speech technology and Microsoft's Voice Live, enabling more natural, human-like dialogue.
  • It will launch on LG's ThinQ ON hub within this year, with existing users receiving it via update.
  • LG is also targeting commercial spaces like hotels, offices, and retail stores.
  • The partnership reflects growing competition in the smart home market, where seamless conversation is becoming a key differentiator.