Google adds features for Actions, its ecosystem of voice apps similar to Amazon's Alexa skills

This story was delivered to BI Intelligence Apps and Platforms Briefing subscribers hours before appearing on Business Insider. To be the first to know, please click here. Google unveiled a slew of new features for its ecosystem of Google Assistant voice apps, called "Actions," the company announced last week. Google Assistant actions are similar to Amazon Alexa skills. The new features -- Custom Device Actions, push notifications, and support for media playback -- could incentivize more developers to create actions for Google Assistantand drive consumer engagement, ultimately making Google Assistant a stronger competitor in the voice assistant landscape.