• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, December 8, 2016

Google announced Thursday that developers can start bringing their applications and services to the Google Assistant, beginning with conversation actions on Google Home.

Brands like Kia Motors America are making major moves into conversational search to create a better consumer experience. The company recently launched click to text, which uses the Google AdWords ad extension -- similar to call ad buttons -- for sending SMS or text messages, and the chatbot Nirobot, which the company refers to as the newest member of its marketing team.

"We've provided two developer samples of what's possible, just say 'Ok Google, talk to Number Genie' or try 'Ok Google, talk to Eliza' for the classic 1960s AI exercise," Jason Douglas, PM director for Actions on Google, the developer platform for the Google Assistant, wrote in a blog post.

Google has already worked with several developer partners, including conversational interaction development tools API.AI and Gupshup, analytics tools DashBot and VoiceLabs and consulting companies such as Assist, Notify.IO, Witlingo and Spoken Layer.

The company also created a collection of samples and voice user interface (VUI) resources, and there are integrations from earlyaccess partners that will roll out during the coming weeks from companies like Yahoo Fantasy, Food Network, CNBC, and WebMD.

Google also plans to add integrations across various Assistant surfaces like Pixel phones and Google Allo, and enable support for purchases and bookings as well as deeper Assistant integrations across verticals.