Ever since Apple (News - Alert) has introduced Siri into its mobile operating system, other platform developers have been observing its increase in popularity as a personal assistance application. Apple has capitalized on this idea for a long time, while others have attempted to imitate its model. Recently, Google (News - Alert) has updated its Chrome browser to include a concept known as voice search. This feature will allow you to talk to your computer when you want to find something.

After speaking into your computer's microphone, Google attempts to recognize what you say and looks through its compiled “Knowledge Engine.” This engine works a lot like Siri's virtual assistance application, as opposed to a search engine. It will return a list of search results if it can't come up with an answer immediately, but if you ask it what a two kilograms is in pounds, it will display “4.40925” immediately. If you type “2 kg in lbs” in Google's address bar, you'll see that Google already has the framework to make this work. In fact, the engine is sophisticated enough to tell you other things, like how old Britney Spears is. Furthermore, you don't necessarily have to modify your speech for Google to understand you. Much like Siri, Google recognizes colloquialisms in langauge.

To reap the benefits of this new feature, you will have to update Chrome to the latest version. Chrome is set to update automatically by default, meaning that you'll probably just have to restart the browser. At Google.com, you'll see a small microphone next to the search bar. All you have to do is click that microphone and you'll be able to make your inquiry.

In the future, Google will probably make voice search a part of something bigger in its Chrome browser, known as Google Now. This new feature will basically act as a version of Siri for Android (News - Alert) phones and will show you information that's relevant to your inquiry from your mobile device, such as your calendar appointments and weather in your immediate area.