Google is adding a way to understand data with voice-based navigation that's fueled by artificial intelligence. Today, the company is launching a tool for Google Analytics that will allow marketers to ask questions about data, which could free up analysts to focus more on strategy and less on basic queries. The feature--which begins rolling out Wednesday and will become available for Android and iOS devices in the next few weeks--is meant to cut down the number of steps it takes to perform tasks such as checking online revenue data or website traffic. According to Babak Pahlavan, Google's senior director of measurement and analytics, the feature will allow users to speak to the system in a way that's similar to Google's flagship search product. Natural language processing will guide the voice-based navigation, and the technology uses artificial intelligence so that the more it's used, the smarter it gets, both on a macro level and on a user-by-user basis.

If you've got a question about your website or app data, you'll soon be able to ask Google Analytics directly. Instead, you just type in your query in or speak it out loud. In fact, Product Manager Annissa Alusi demonstrated the product for me by asking those three questions. In each case, Google Analytics answered her with the relevant data after just a few seconds. Senior Director of Measurement and Analytics Babak Pahlavan argued that adding voice and natural language controls isn't just a small upgrade.