Google Assistant was released in 2016, five years after the release of Apple‘s Siri, the first smart virtual assistant that shipped with iPhones. Since then, it has grown in leaps and bounds, swiftly bypassing its competitors. In a study by AI training company Bespoken, Google Assistant was able to answer 77% of questions correctly, with second place belonging to Alexa at 56%.
We’ll break down exactly what Google Assistant is and how to use it. This article will get you started if you’ve never used an AI personal assistant. Seasoned Assistant users will find some useful tips here as well.
What is Google Assistant?
If you’re not sure what’s meant by the term “smart virtual assistant” a good way to think of Google Assistant is to imagine you have a friend called John holding your phone at all times. If you want to set an alarm, you simply say “Hey John, can you set an alarm for 7 a.m. tomorrow?” Sure, you could do it yourself, but why not let him do all the work?
Now imagine John is trapped inside your smartphone. Don’t worry, he’s perfectly happy there. Now ask him again, “Hey John, can you set an alarm for 7 a.m. tomorrow?” and, being the good friend he is, he will set it without complaint.
At its core, that’s exactly what Google Assistant is: A real-time voice assistant that helps you complete basic tasks hands-free. But Google Assistant is a lot more than just setting alarms. With the simple voice command ”Hey Google,” Assistant remember where you parked, convert money, play music, set reminders, or even make phone calls.
Google Assistant is also used to automate a series of tasks called Routines. Check out our guide on the best routines for Google Assistant.
How to use Google Assistant
The Google Assistant is actually baked into the Google Android app, so if you’re using most Android phones, you should have it. If you’re a Samsung Galaxy smartphone owner, you can probably completely disable Bixby and use Google Assistant instead. You can also install a shortcut to Assistant from the Google Play Store, if you want, but this isn’t strictly required.
You’ll also find the Google Assistant on various smart speakers and smart home devices. Google Nest has an array of smart speakers and smart displays that have Assistant built in, and a growing number of televisions are among compatible devices.
There are many ways to call up the Google Assistant, including:
- Saying “OK Google.”
- You’ll have to enable this, either during setup or after the fact (more on that below).
- Tapping the Assistant shortcut, which you can install from the Google Play Store.
- Tapping the microphone icon in the Google Search widget.
- On Google Pixel phones: Pressing and holding the power button.
- On most other Android devices: Swiping in from either of the screen’s bottom corners.
- On iPhone: Tapping the home button or opening the Google Assistant for iOS app. You can find Google Assistant in the App Store.
Some older Pixels even have an Active Edge squeeze gesture to trigger it.
If you don’t want to use your voice to activate Google Assistant, you can activate it manually. This mechanism varies by smartphone or tablet, so if none of the above methods work, it’s worth checking out your device’s support docs for alternative methods (i.e. for several Pixel phones 5 and earlier, you can squeeze the phone to activate Google Assistant).
Changing your Google Assistant settings
There’s a lot you can change about how Google Assistant works on your device. Here’s how to access its settings.
- Open the Google app.
- Tap your profile picture in the top right corner.
- Go to Settings.
- Go to Google Assistant.
Here you can change settings, including:
- Enable or disable the “Hey Google” command and retrain it to recognize your voice
- Change the language of your Assistant
- Allow Assistant to be used on the lock screen
- Allow Assistant to access personal information
- Create Routines
- Set and manage Reminders
- Choose what service Assistant will use to play music
Google Pixel smarpthone tricks
Having developed both Assistant and its own line of Pixel phones, it’s not surprising that there are a couple of Assistant tricks exclusive to Pixels.
On Google Pixel 6 phones, Google Assistant has a nifty setting that allows you to give it certain simple commands without saying “Hey Google” first. This setting is called Quick Phrases.
Activating Quick Phrases
- Open the Settings app on your Pixel 6.
- Tap Apps.
- Tap Assistant.
- To enable Quick Phrases, tap Quick phrases.
- You may way to use the search bar to locate this setting; it’s pretty far down the list.
- Toggle the slider for the tasks you wish to enable Quick phrases for.
On recent Google Pixel phones (Pixel 4 or newer), you can also set the Assistant to briefly listen for follow-up questions after it answers you, no Hey Google required. This is called Continued Conversation.
Activating Continued Conversation
- Open the Settings app on your Google Pixel phone.
- Tap Apps.
- Tap Assistant.
- To enable Continued Conversation, toggle the Continued Conversation slider on.
Google Assistant isn’t the only virtual assistant
If you’ve never tried Google Assistant before, give it a go. You don’t have to be a tech wizard to make the most out of it, and it can genuinely help you in your day-to-day life. If you’ve tried Google Assistant—especially with the Google Home app for home automation—and find it to be confusing or unintuitive, you may want to give Amazon’s Alexa lineup a try.
