ELI5: how does voice search work

Voice search works by listening to what you say, figuring out what you mean, and then finding the answer on the internet.

Imagine you're asking your mom a question. That's basically what you're doing with voice search! Your phone or smart speaker is like your mom, but it uses computers to understand you.

Here's how it works in simple steps:

• Listening: First, the device's microphone acts like your ears, picking up the sounds of your voice.
• Understanding: Then, the device uses a special computer program to turn your sounds into words. This is like your mom figuring out what you're actually asking, even if you don't say it perfectly. It uses speech recognition to understand the words.
• Figuring Out What You Want: Next, the device tries to understand what you mean by your words. This is like your mom knowing you want cookies when you say "I'm hungry". It uses natural language processing to understand the meaning.
• Searching: After understanding, the device goes to the internet, which is like a giant library, and looks for the answer to your question.
• Answering: Finally, the device reads the answer back to you, or shows it on the screen. This is like your mom telling you where the cookies are!

• Hear you say "What's the weather today?"
• Turn your sounds into the words "What's the weather today?"
• Understand you want to know the weather for today.
• Search the internet for today's weather in your location.
• Tell you "It's sunny and 70 degrees!"