You’ll have to rely on Gmail or Chat sometime in the future
Back in 2019, Google rolled out assignable reminders in Assistant, offering users in supported markets a way to select specific family members to complete chores, pick up groceries, or anything else on the to-do list. In practice, it worked surprisingly well, making it easy for partners, spouses, or roommates to make sure tasks were completed on time — though it could make for some passive-aggressive comments between loved ones. Unfortunately, it seems like the feature isn’t long for this world.
Google updated its support page for Assistant reminders today, retitling it to remove “assign” from the original headline, and to add a blurb about the feature going away soon. Currently, under the subhead “Manage assigned reminder settings,” a new warning shows the following information:
Important: The option to assign reminders to others will go away soon. You can still assign reminders in Google Chat or Gmail.
Combined with the change in title, it seems all but certain that Google is moving away from assignable reminders in Assistant. While the feature’s still available in Chat and Gmail, it’s not quite as useful as voice actions. You’ll need to use an app on your phone or computer to manually add and assign tasks this way.
That said, Android Police editor-in-chief Daniel Bader — who lives in Canada — is still seeing the old title without any warning on the support page. It could come down to a geo-specific restriction, though it would be odd to see Google remove the feature from the US and not other areas in North America. We’ve reached out to Google for comment and to specifically narrow down when this tool might be leaving Assistant.
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