At the end of this month, Google plans to end Duplex on the Web. A service that allows users to book movies, check-in for flights, and track discounts.
Google to Terminate has not yet given a specific reason. Still, it is speculated that the cost of training Duplex on the Web is the reason. It is probably no longer feasible, given Google’s use of specialized user agents.
Death of Duplex on Web
Unbeknownst to many, Duplex on the Web is an extension of the Duplex phone booking AI – launched in 2019. It used to help Android users buy movie tickets online through Google Assistant, which could navigate websites independently.
It was later expanded to automatically check-in for flights and track discount deals. Even protect users from online data breaches – provided they keep their credit card data in Chrome.
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It was a useful service, but Google is, unfortunately, shutting it down to “fully focus on advancing AI into the Duplex voice technology that helps people most every day.”
In a support page discovered by TechCrunch, Google notes that Duplex on the Web will not function after the end of 2022.
Although it does not mention specific reasons, it is assumed that the cost of training has ended; TechCrunch notes that Google crawls websites multiple times a day with a special user agent so that the Duplex AI can serve users accordingly. It noted that it had been trained to do so.
However, this service became useless over time as its viability declined, and most website administrators blocked this crawler from indexing their content. Therefore, it is shutting down.
