An employee walks past the logo of Google in front of its former headquarters in Beijing
IN PHOTO: An employee walks past the logo of Google in front of its former headquarters, in Beijing June 2, 2011. Hackers who broke into Google's Gmail system had access to some accounts for many months and could have been planning a more serious attack, said the cyber-security expert who first publicly revealed the incident. Picture taken June 2, 2011. Reuters/Jason Lee

Google will be targeting Apple's Siri and Microsoft's Cortana as it announces an application program interface, or API, related to its Google Now function. The program interface will be seeded to developers allowing third-party companies to develop "interactive cards" under the application. Can Google top Apple and Microsoft this time? Will the progress on the Google Now interface change the game for the rest of the Android devices?

Understanding Google's recent move may be key in shedding more light on how the company's decisions can marginalize competing services like Cortana and Siri. There is an incremental growth expected from the intelligent virtual agent or IVA industry. According to Transparency Market Research, the $352-million dollar sector in 2012 could grow up to $2.1 billion in 2019. However, The Motley Fool explains that: "But for Google, Apple, and Microsoft, the IVA market is less about generating revenue and more about locking in users since their assistants are bundled with their respective products."

Google has always excelled in monitoring user activities which could eventually be beneficial in line with its recent decision. The company clearly wants to become more than just a search engine giant and it's moving in closer to Apple's turf.

Google can utilize its engagement with users including its authority on searches over Apple's tightly knit ecosystem. Apple has still yet to figure out how to translate more of its ecosystem parts into revenue thus the opportunity for Google. Siri is challenging to monetize unlike Google's platforms because they can be independent services of their own. As the Motley Fool notes: “One bleeding-edge technology is about to put the World Wide Web to bed. And if you act right away, it could make you wildly rich. Experts are calling it the single largest business opportunity in the history of capitalism.”

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