Motorola, like Samsung and HTC and Sony and just about every other Android device maker, takes Google’s software and massages it a little in order to add functionality. Unlike most companies, however, Motorola decided to put their customizations into the Google Play Store. So instead of having to issue an over the air update to give users a better camera application, for example, they can simply update the app in the Play Store and be done with it. Which brings me to today’s new, an updated version of Moto Assist has just been released.

What exactly is Moto Assist? It’s more of a system preference that you set once and never touch again. When enabled, it’ll silence your phone when you’re in a meeting. And if you’re driving, it’ll put your phone in a special mode so you can keep your eyes on the road. This new version of Moto Assist specifically adds features to the driving portion of the app. If you get a text message, you’ll now be able to reply to it using nothing but your voice. There’s also another feature that will let you pick which music application launches when the phone enters “Driving Mode”.

Will Motorola make Moto Assist work on phones made by other companies? Probably not, but this is where Google comes in. With each new version of Android, Google steals adds more and more features, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Assist-like functionality simply becomes a core part of Android itself.