Smart Speakers Go Beyond Waiting to Be Asked

The Amazon Echo Show 10 automatically moves its display to face the user, even if it is performing a task that doesn't need user input, like showing a recipe on the screen. Get weekly insights into the ways companies optimize data, technology and design to drive success with their customers and employees. Proactive or not, features in smart-home devices need to address a real user need, not stack the product with unnecessary and potentially confusing tools, said Ashton Udall, senior product manager at Google. The company developed sensor technology to monitor sleep, for example, because its research showed that consumers frequently forget to use or charge the wearables often employed for sleep tracking, or find the devices uncomfortable, he said. Amazon and Google hope the experiences will help them compete for users and more fully integrate their devices into people's lives.