Google promises better privacy tools, smarter AI assistant

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif: Google announced new privacy tools Tuesday intended to give peo ple more control over how they’re being tracked on the go or in their own home, part of a broader effort by big tech companies to counter increasing scrutiny of their data collection practices.

The company also announced updates for its artificially intelligent voice assistant as well as a cheaper Pixel phone and a rebranding of his smart-home products.

CEO Sundar Pichai kicked off the company’s annual developer conference by noting that the company wants to do more to stay ahead of “constantly evolving user expectations” on privacy.