Google Assistant branches out, supporting third-party hardware and smarter features

Google gave its Google Assistant a big promotion on Wednesday, adding the ability to control more devices, make payments, and even run on Apple's iPhone as well as consumer appliances. Google's Assistant runs on more than 100 million devices, according to Google executives. The company's goal is to expand its reach, making it smarter and more capable as it goes. Probably the most important Assistant announcement of the morning was Google's plans to integrate Assistant into a slew of consumer devices. The company said it was working with Sony, Panasonic, and others to control them with the Assistant, and even bake it in to the device itself.