Google Home Ads

Reddit Post

Users on reddit are reporting that their Google Home played them an ad for Disney's Beauty and the Beast.

This morning while I was getting ready for work, I did my usual "Okay Google, good morning". After information about the time and weather, my google home said something along the lines of

By the way, Beauty and The Beast opens in theaters today. In this version, Belle is the inventor. Sounds more like it to me.

I'm not a fan of ads on this device. I don't believe I've done any searching for the film either, so I think it's not due to perceived interest. Has anyone else heard similar ads?

Google has to walk a fine line here. I don't think anyone who has paid for this device (which, at $130 MSRP, is not smart-phone expensive, but not cheap either) wants ads in it. On the other hand, if someone had searched for "Beauty and the Beast", especially if they asked about the release date, then I think it might be relevant to add that the movie opens that day in the daily summary given by Google Home. Anything more about the movie than that it opens today seems more ad-like than I would want. This feature should also probably be opt-in, similar to the Google Now cards about topics, sports teams, etc. Otherwise it becomes spam.

I'm currently on the fence about getting a Google Home. There are definitely privacy issues involved as well as value for the price, but I will never buy one if they add advertisements to it.