It's kind of incredible that a Google-made laptop runs a hobbled version of Google Assistant. We're referring to the Pixelbook Go, which begins shipping on November 15 as a sibling to the original Pixelbook. It's a performant and sleek machine with an exceptional keyboard and all-day battery life, but there's little to recommend it on the software side. When Google Assistant came to Chrome OS alongside the circa-2017 Pixelbook, the assumption was that it would match or best the robustness of Assistant on smartphones, smart displays, and speakers. Nips and tucks continue to arrive two years later, but Google Assistant on Chrome OS is advancing at a snail's pace relative to its counterparts.

I recently attended the ICMI Contact Center Demo conference. While I was there representing my company ServiceNow at the vendor expo, I had the opportunity to attend the keynote and breakout sessions and get a pulse on what is keeping many contact center leaders up at night. One recurring theme was agent retention. Customer service is a stressful job. Anyone who has been on the front lines in a contact center or in a management role it will tell you this.