Settlement Overview - Google has agreed to a preliminary settlement of $68 million in a class action lawsuit alleging that Google Assistant illegally recorded users' private conversations when it misperceived activation words [2][3] Allegations and Legal Context - The lawsuit claimed that Google Assistant recorded and disseminated private conversations triggered by misinterpreted "hot words," which were not intended to activate the assistant [2] - Google denied any wrongdoing but opted to settle to avoid further litigation [3] Industry Trends and Consumer Trust - A report indicated a decline in consumer trust in voice assistants, with confidence in their ability to match human intelligence dropping from 73% to 60% over 15 months [6] - The percentage of consumers skeptical about the future capabilities of voice assistants increased from 27% to 40%, attributed to unmet expectations for performance and reliability [6]