Few people know thatGoogle Assistantis not just a way to doeasy voice searches. On the contrary, the name does not come by chance: he is one of the most powerful voice assistants on the market, being in direct competition with the giantsSiriandAlexa, respectively fromAppleandAmazon.
Like the other assistants, it will tell you the weather, add reminders and can even be connected to the user’s preferred apps and streaming services.
To help you discover the main functions of the wizard, we have prepared this guide with20 tipsfor you to take advantage ofGoogle’s artificial intelligence.
Basic Google Assistant settings
To access the settings, just open theGoogleapp (default app onAndroid, usually awidgeton the home screen), click onMore, in the lower right corner,Settingsand open theGoogle Assistanttab to access the various menus that will serve as the basis for most of the functions that we will explain in this publication.
By default,Google Assistantis also set to open every time you hold down themiddle button(at the bottom of your screen) for a few seconds, which is useful if you want to select one of the functions displayed on the screen but are in an environment with noise pollution.
First of all, it is worth remembering that you candownload the appfrom theApp Store (iOS)or from thePlay Store– the “Google” app is already installed at the factory in the case ofAndroid.
Enable / Disable the function
If for some reason you have disabledGoogle Assistant in the past and want to reactivate it, just go to the Assistant tab, scroll down toDevicesand select the device you want toadd. The option can be clicked again if you want toremovethe wizard.
Enable voice reference
In order to help your assistant to recognize your voice (and use one of the most useful functions in this guide, “OK Google”),Voice Match is activated.
To do this, go toAssistant, select your device and click on the first option in the Voice Match section. If you did notregister a voicewhen you first openedGoogle Assistant, this is your cue.
You just need to repeat a few variations of“Ok, Google”for the system to recognize you – and, luckily, no one else’s voice.
‘Ok Google’ without unlocking the screen
One of the most useful functions is to be able to carry out commands without having to pick up the phone. It can be on your desk or, for example, on your car dashboard (while your hands are busy, in these two scenarios).
To useVoice Matchwithout having to unlock the screen, go to theAssistant tab, scroll down to yourdeviceand activate thePersonal Resultsareaon the lock screen.
As explained in the print, there is a way to send messages or listen to information, among other options explained by clicking on “Learn more”.
Delete / reset voice reference
To delete your voice model and, consequently,disable the functionwhen you say“Ok, Google”with the screen locked, just go to the area mentioned in the previous items(Assistant> Phone)and click onVoice modelto delete.
In this same area, it is possible toreset it, which is useful if you have a used device where a voice has already been registered.
Create routines
By far, the function more “personal assistant guy,” shared among other assistants competition (such asAlexa, theAmazon) is to create routines.
In theAssistanttab you will see the option and, selecting it, you cancreate or customizeyour routines. In the example on the right, we have the “On the way to work” routine to explain how the routines are patterned.
First you definethe voice command (what you will say), then there is a list of functions/answers that the assistant will do (alist of actions) that you can even change the order of, and finally, there is how to addmusic or a radio station.
Context on screen
Did you know that you can use some ofGoogle’sartificial intelligence to know what you’re seeing on your phone?
So, when the function is activated, you give the assistant permission to displayinformation related to what is on the screen– such as, for example, links toYouTubevideos or an actor’sIMDb page. To activate the on-screen context, go to yourDevice(under theAssistanttab ) and turn onUse screen context.
Link with Spotify
To ask the assistant toplay music, say “Ok, Google” followed by anartist or genre(example: “play Gorillaz on Spotify”). By default, your account will not be linked, so just go toMusic, in theServices tab, and go down toSpotify.
By selectingGoogle Play Music, for example, you will be able to play the songs from this service and also those from your device (if registered correctly). In the same window, you can choose whichdefault player youprefer.
Link to Netflix
Similar toSpotify, another possible link is with another very popularstreaming service:Netflix. To link your accounts and open the app with voice commands, go toServices,Videos and Photosand click on the item in the videos area.
If you have a recentChromecast, you can orderGoogleto open, for example,“Orange Is The New Black on the TV in the living room”(programnamefollowed bydevice name ).
Show your photos
In the same area as the previous item (Services> Videos and Photos), you can see yourGoogle Photos account registered on the device. When doing the standard voice command (“open my photos” or similar), it will open the app in question – instead ofyour device’simage gallery.
If you’re familiar with how Google Photos categorizes what it recognizes as “objects”, “people”, “animals” and etc., the voice command may be a good choice, as you can only say “show pictures of my dog” that a list will appear.
Customize your news feed
To see news in general, just use the voice command and the app will open blocks of text with title and image without migrating to the browser.
Remembering that the listis not the same as Google Chromesuggests. In this second scenario, the options are more refined.
To set up Google Assistant and show news in a way more similar to Chrome: go to the app, go to Services>News to enable or disable your favorite sources. Unfortunately,there is no customizable RSS feed, as in competitor services (cof cof, Amazon).
Sports News
For sports news, you can choose a specific branch or team and ask questions like “theresult of the last game” or “when will X team play?“. In our tests, the app recognized more than 10 teams of different names (including AFE, Mirassol and Aparecidense) and said thechampionship tableand even the teamroster.
Add Home / Workplace
To optimize your routines and see traffic smoothly, it is very useful to find your home and work through the app. To do this, open theYoutab and go down toYour seats. It is still possible toadd different locations, such as “boyfriend’s home” or a favorite stopping point.
Create nickname
In the same tab as the previous item, it is possible to create a nickname for you. So, when you ask “what’s my name?” theGoogle Assistantcan respond good-natured way, for example. To do this, go toNicknameand edit the name in the top box. You can also add theSpelloption if your name is not in the Portuguese vocabulary of the wizard.
Searching apps on the Play Store
If the laziness hits when you need to go to thePlay Storeand type an application with a giant name, don’t be afraid: just say the “name of the application” followed by “in the Play Store” and the wizard will open that app store leaving everything ready so you just click “download”.
Sticky notes
If you don’t use theGoogle Keep reminder platform, a quick way to add a reminder is withAssistant voice commands. Just say ”what to remember” followed bya specific time rangeorday/time.
After adding your locations (one of the previous items), you can make a creative combination of reminders, such as simply“remind me to call my mom when I get home”.
Alarm
If you want to activate the alarm for a special time tomorrow morning or if you want something less subtle than a reminder (in case you are making a cake, for example), just say “set an alarm” followed by aperiod or time specific– such as “for 13 hours from now” or “for Friday at 8 pm”.
Good Morning
One of the most popularroutines(a function explained in a previous item) is “Good Morning”. By default, there is a sequence of four actions: weather forecast, route information, today’s schedule and today’s reminders.
All items are customizable, and you can also change their order and deactivate them. In practice, just test it: say “Good morning” andwatch the sequence of actions happen– as illustrated above. Of course, it is also possible to ask only “what is the weather forecast for?” to get the image response on the right.
Real-time translation
Did you travel to another country or find a lost tourist around here? TheGoogle Assistanthelps you: just say what to translate followed by the language (example “go ahead, in French”).
It is worth remembering that he translates everything that is inGoogle Translate, but he will only understandthe standard languages you add via voice command, so it may be that a “portunhol” passes by, but he will not understand a German speaker – at least, not before you add the language to your system.
Games and other entertainment
Other useful hobbies are more relaxed orders: you can ask him totoss a coin(or just “heads or tails”),tell you a joke,throw a dice, saythe meaning of lifeor saya random number.
Optionally, you can just say “play a game” and be surprised. A function that few know to be integrated withGoogle Assistantis torecognize music.Just click on the microphone and select the musical note or just say “what song is that?” for the wizard.