Google Duplex, the Human-Sounding Phone Bot, Comes to the Pixel

"Uhm," said the female voice. "Can I book a table for tomorrow?" The question came not from a person, but software called Duplex developed by Google to make phone calls. Before the end of the year, some of the company's users will be able to direct the bot to call restaurants and book tables on their behalf. In a demonstration last week, Duplex smartly handled questions from a Google employee playing the role of restaurant worker about details such as the size of the party and the name to hold the table under.