Google Is Reportedly Building An Amazon Echo Rival

Google is said to be developing a product that would compete with Amazon’s Echo voice assistant, according to Recode. The gadget would look similar to Google’s OnHub wireless router, and would include Google’s search and voice recognition technology.

Google likely won’t introduce the device at its developer conference next week, during which it usually makes significant product announcements, says Recode. But the firm is aiming to launch the Echo-like product this year. Google employees are calling the project “Chirp” internally.

Read more: The ultimate guide to the Amazon Echo

This comes after The Information reported that Google had been working on a product similar to Amazon’s Internet-connected speaker.

The Echo has quietly become a success for the online retail giant over the past year. Amazon hasn’t disclosed sales figures for the Echo, but Consumer Intelligence Research Partners estimates that three million of the devices may have been sold since the product was introduced.

Pursuing a similar gadget seems like an obvious move for Google, especially because its Google Now virtual assistant has been a large part of the Android ecosystem for years. Packing all the data Google already collects — what we search for, where we travel via Google Maps, etc. — into a digital assistant that lives in the home could result in gadget that knows what we want before we even ask for it.