Like it or not, the machines are claiming new territory. And by "machines" I mean artificial intelligence (AI). Our business and personal lives are touched by AI every day. That friendly lady who took your information and looked up your account when you called your insurance company? That helpful service on Netflix that recommends new shows to watch?

Apple on Tuesday announced a Feb 9. release date for its smart speaker called the HomePod -- allowing the company that first popularized virtual assistants through its smartphones to finally enter the market for virtual assistants in the home. The looming question for the company, though, is whether it is too late. Apple is releasing its smart speaker nearly three years after the Amazon Echo and after the Google Home, which launched in 2016. Apple also originally scheduled the HomePod to hit the market in December 2017 before the critical holiday shopping season. But the device was delayed until early 2018, past the time for avid shopping and gift giving.

Apple is finally ready to launch its attempt to compete with the internet-connected speakers made by Amazon and Google with the release of its long-awaited HomePod. Pre-orders for the HomePod will begin Friday in the U.S, U.K. and Australia, two weeks before the speaker goes on sale in stores for $349. Apple had intended to release the HomePod last month during the holiday shopping season, but delayed its debut to refine the product. Both Amazon's Echo and Google's Home speakers have been expanding their reach into people's homes since Apple announced the HomePod last June. Amazon and Google also are selling their speakers for substantially less, with streamlined versions of their devices available for below $50.

Siri's news reading feature is no longer limited to the beta testing crowd. Apple has officially released iOS 11.2.5, and the centerpiece is the ability to ask Siri for the latest happenings. If you're in the US, UK or Australia, you can get a briefing from a slew of local sources, such as NPR and the Washington Post in the states or the BBC and Sky News in the UK. And it doesn't have to be general news, either -- you can ask for business, music or sports news as well. Not surprisingly, 11.2.5 is also key to unlocking support for the HomePod speaker.

Apple is set to release the HomePod soon, which will have to compete with other rival speaker devices already on the market. With the release of the HomePod, customers will have to choose between the $349 device or other much cheaper options, like the Echo device family and Google Home. Here's how the devices compare. The second-generation Echo is powered by Alexa and is compatible with the Alexa app on iOS and Android devices. The device supports messaging and voice calling.

Steeped in the language of digital commerce, today's shoppers have developed a new standard of behaviors, preferences and expectations for all of their retail experiences. Responsible with meeting these elevated needs, retailers need to overcome the hurdles of legacy technology and captivate each of their customers on a 1:1 basis. In the past, consumer value expectations were centered on three variables: cost, choice and convenience. With instant gratification available at the push of the button, customers are looking to have more control of their purchase journey and are seeking out personalized shopping experiences. Real-Time Engagement Accustomed to the instant access of e-commerce shopping, customers are looking for opportunities to skip the line and have direct communication channels to ask, troubleshoot and, of course, shop.

So far, all of these virtual assistants are great at a handful of tasks. They can help you with scheduling meetings, browsing the web for answers to your questions, and calling up a friend, for example. However, their range of tasks is minimal in comparison to a trained human. In the future, the goal will be to advance the technology so that one virtual assistant will not only be able to handle a wide array of tasks, but it will be able to do it in a way that is surprisingly human.

"OK Google, tell Audible we're coming after you." It may not be worthy of a page-turner. But Google is indeed launching an audiobooks service on Google Play that is set to challenge the Audible service owned by Amazon. It'll be an uphill battle for sure. Audible is the largest seller of narrated books and spoken content, with more than 400,000 titles overall. While Google starts rolling out audiobooks on Google Play starting today in nine languages and 45 countries, the company wouldn't tell me how many titles will be made available at launch.

The HomePod speaker is photographed in a a showroom during an announcement of new products at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference Monday, June 5, 2017, in San Jose, Calif. We're about to find out if the Siri-infused voice-controlled wireless HomePod smart speaker that Apple -- following a lengthy delay -- finally starts shipping on Feb. 9 can lure listeners away from Amazon's Alexa, and to a lesser extent the Google Assistant. Apple starts taking preorders Friday. HomePod is positioned as a high-end speaker, and at $349 priced accordingly. But it is considerably higher than the $199 you'll pay for another sweet-sounding speaker, the Sonos One with Alexa.

The Google Play Store has sold just about every media type for years now, but there's one more category the company is getting into as of today: audiobooks. As a leaked image revealed a few days ago, audiobooks are now on sale from Google Play in 45 countries and nine languages. As with most other Google services, audiobooks are available on pretty much any device you would want to use: Android, iOS, the web and Google Home speakers. To play a book on your phone, you'll need to download the Google Play Books app, which until now has focused on text-only options. If you're a fan of using the Google Assistant, you can simply say "Hey Google, read my book" and your phone or speaker will continue reading the most recent book you were listening to.