The device makes use of the firm’s artificial intelligence know-how to find information, play music and control other internet-connected kit in the home. It promises to be an advance on Amazon’s rival Echo speaker because Home’s virtual assistant can handle follow-up questions, which is intended to give owners a sense of being part of conversations. But journalists at the California launch were only given limited access, so a comparison is still difficult to make. The BBC’s North America reporter Dave Lee spoke to Google’s director of user experience Michael Sundermeyer about the product.