Google I/O is coming up soon so we were sure to hear a few tidbits leading up to the event. Thursday morning, Google announced that the Google Assistant is now supported on more than 5,000 devices...up from 1,500 in January. That is an impressive bump in support and proves the viability of the Assistant in the smart home market.

The announcement itself was part of a post highlighting how to create a smart home using the Assistant. Every major device brand is supported including security companies such as ADT, Vivint, First Alert, Schlage, and August. Even companies like Logitech and Dish are implementing the Google Assistant into their products. Amazon added Alexa support for Verizon Fios earlier this year.

Google Home launched in late 2016 to compete with Amazon's Echo smart speaker line. Unfortunately, Amazon already had a huge head start in the smart home race. At CES 2017 and 2018, Alexa was everywhere. Fortunately, Google's dominance in artificial intelligence and machine learning is helping to bridge the gap, potentially giving the Assistant limitless possibilities.

Amazon still has the lead in terms of sheer device compatibility. According to CNET, an analyst for IHS Markit estimated that Alexa works with about 11,200 different devices as of 2017. That said, going from 1,500 devices to over 5,000 in just 5 months is incredible progress. If Google keeps up this pace, it could easily overtake Alexa as the most popular digital assistant, especially with Google Assistant being rated the smartest virtual assistant.