AI First is a Bigger Paradigm Shift than You Think
Google’s “official” shift from Mobile first to an AI first strategy is a game changer that looks all buzz wordy at first, but in reality, it’s a pretty big paradigm shift.
What it’s really saying is that it’s not the apps that are the most important (yes, they’re still important, and will continue to exist) but it’s how we access our data, and what “apps” can quietly interact with you to get your tasks done that are going to matter most in the future.
In the new audio powered (think Echo, Home) , and soon visually powered (think AR devices), interface world, data is key. Figuring out how to receive that data, and then how to respond to that data is going to be what provides the most value to people, both in terms of the actual data delivered (“did it do the task I wanted it to do?”), but also the ways in which they were able to seamlessly deliver the data (visual/audio cues).
As a service company, that’s really been Google’s forte over the last few years… over the last few decades… since it’s inception: to receive a request and deliver a contextually appropriate response. Whether that’s via a keyboard typed search, an audio request to Google Home, asking Google Lens to identify a flower, or ordering Panera via Google Assistant, they all strive to take a request and deliver a response cleanly, simply, and with contextual efficiency.
For Google, that’s where it sees the future. Games, fun apps, work tools and all that will definitely continue to exist as applications for direct use, but Google also wants to make sure that these apps are also going to be well integrated into Google’s data processing stream so that: Panera can develop a plugin for Google Assistant to process food orders, or you can ask for an Uber lift via Google Home, or look at something and know vital statistics about it via Google Lens.
All that’s going to be powered by AI to make life smoother, easier, and cleaner for us. It wont matter if that’s done through a keyboard, a touch screen, a voice request, or an AR device. Which is why it no longer makes sense to say Mobile first. It’s AI that’s going to help make that data delivery and processing contextually relevant, no matter where you are or what you use. It just might happen to be on mobile, but that’s no longer a certainty, or even that important.
It’ll be interesting to see how well Amazon can compete and what Apple may have up their sleeves… because if they can’t (keep up) or don’t (have anything planned), Google has got a pretty good head start going.
As the future. It’s already here.
