Google product manager Dan Ritter explained the service in a blog post. “Ask the Assistant something like, ‘Hey Google, showtimes for [movie] in Phoenix this weekend.’ Or, you can do a search for movie times from the Google app on Android,” he wrote. The system then guides you through the purchase, with another key variable being payment information that can be saved in the Chrome web browser.
“It’s a helper,” explained Marine Suttle, Boxoffice Company SVP and Chief Product Officer, explained in an interview with Deadline. “It speeds up the checkout process and focuses on refining the options.” Internal research indicates that 20% to 30% of consumers find showtimes on Google, Suttle said. Mindful of that growing population, executives from the tech giant traveled with the Boxoffice Company to the annual Cinema-Con trade show in Las Vegas last spring. Their goal was to gain a better understanding of the exhibition business and its many idiosyncrasies.