Mozilla is rolling out a voice assistant ‘Firefox Voice’ that enables users to surf the web with their voice.
The voice assistant has the ability to recognize natural-language speech and has the features to do a lot more than just launching websites on command.
Also, Firefox Voice is wired to perform a good deal of browser-related tasks hands-free. It can be asked to open websites, switch to another tab, take the current web page’s screenshot, and more.
The voice assistant can also be invoked by either clicking the add-on’s button or pressing the keyboard shortcut. Firefox Voice also understands natural language which means users don’t necessarily have to stick to specific commands.
Users, for instance, can ask a question like, “who created Game of Thrones” and it will pull a little Wikipedia snippet with the creator’s details. Firefox Voice can also search inside compatible web pages through URL manipulation. With this, you can, for example, ask it to “look up Florence hotel reservation in Gmail.” On top of that, it can execute a wide range of browser tasks such as reading the page aloud, muting a tab, or translating a website.
Firefox Voice is compatible with media controls as well. So if you’re on a website that’s playing some audio, you can trigger the add-on and adjust the playback without reaching out for the keyboard. Mozilla has bundled a handful of additional handy functions for a more convenient experience, such as assigning a long command a shortcut or pulling up directions, although it’s worth noting that unlike the voice assistants you’re used to, Firefox Voice can’t talk just yet. It only shows the results on the screen.
Also, Mozilla has built Firefox Voice through the Google Cloud Speech Service, which means your audio recordings are processed by both Mozilla and Google. However, the company highlights that you have the option to set your data to self-destruct immediately.
Mozilla says in Firefox Voice’s Privacy Policy, “When you choose to use Firefox Voice, your voice recordings are sent to Mozilla and Google’s Cloud Speech service for processing to provide you with suggested text. We do not keep the recordings or the transcripts of the recordings unless we specifically request it and you specifically consent.”
The voice assistant is still in beta and to have a trial with it, you will have to sign up for it here. Look for a download link and in your email inbox once you have registered.
