After expanding Duplex to the U.K., Australia, and Canada in early April, Google brought the AI calling assistant to Spain in a limited capacity.
The expansion follows a pilot in New Zealand and Duplex’s quiet expansion to the U.K., Australia, and Canada. It also comes as Google looks to leverage Duplex to confirm which stores are closed as a result of shelter-in-place orders intended to limit the spread of COVID-19. In a March blog post, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said the company was increasingly using Duplex “where possible” to contact restaurants and businesses so it can reflect their hours accurately during the pandemic.
A Google spokesperson told VentureBeat via email that the rollout in Spain is part of that effort and is “only for confirming store hours only during the health situation.”
With the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, rollouts and development of Assistant on the Web and Duplex are likely to slow as governments mandate that non-essential businesses remain closed.