Google Assistant to soon predict flight delays on smartphones

San Francisco, Dec 19 (IANS) Using flight status data combined with Machine Learning (ML), Google Assistant will soon tell you over phone if your flight would be delayed even before the airline announces it. According to Google, Assistant will notify users on phones when its algorithms predict that their flights would be late. "Earlier this year, we started sharing flight delay predictions (via Google Flight) when you search for your flight status and we're 85 per cent confident that the flight will eventually be delayed. "We use historic flight status data combined with machine learning to make these predictions in advance of airlines confirming delays," Google said in a blog post late on Tuesday. To help with the increase in delayed flights, the Google Assistant will now show predicted flight delays, too. "You can ask things like, 'Hey Google, is my flight on time?' or 'Hey Google, what's the status of the American Airlines flight from Philadelphia to Denver?'" said Google. "Over the next few weeks, the Assistant will begin proactively notifying you on your phone if we predict a flight delay and tell you the reason if we know it," the company added.