Yes, it would be better if those businesses had systems/APIs for those transactions to be done, but we still live in a world where scanning a sheet of paper that was printed and mailed to you with a phone often reduces friction on the action of moving money between two accounts.
That being said, as someone who has used "assistant as a service" stuff before, I wonder how well this will work or how limited it will have to be, and not just because of the AI itself.
Even with humans on both sides, it's amazing how hard it can be to get an answer let alone a request fulfilled in a single phone call.
Questions about table placement, food allergies or other restrictions could come up, which I wouldn't want going to an operator. I'd rather be told in advance that it is calling the restaurant and have it send me questions in real-time with suggested answer buttons until it learns enough about me not to need them.
In other cases, just having it call and stay on hold for me would be useful. "Ok Google, call my mobile operator so I can talk to someone at around 10am" and having it use data it already has from other calls to place the call at around 9:45 and patch me in at the right time would be useful.
That being said, as someone who has used "assistant as a service" stuff before, I wonder how well this will work or how limited it will have to be, and not just because of the AI itself.
Even with humans on both sides, it's amazing how hard it can be to get an answer let alone a request fulfilled in a single phone call.
Questions about table placement, food allergies or other restrictions could come up, which I wouldn't want going to an operator. I'd rather be told in advance that it is calling the restaurant and have it send me questions in real-time with suggested answer buttons until it learns enough about me not to need them.
In other cases, just having it call and stay on hold for me would be useful. "Ok Google, call my mobile operator so I can talk to someone at around 10am" and having it use data it already has from other calls to place the call at around 9:45 and patch me in at the right time would be useful.