Since we introduced Google Assistant seven years ago, it’s been incredible to see how voice technology has transformed the way we get things done at home and work. Today, Assistant helps hundreds of millions of people around the world cross off their to-do lists.

Over the years, we’ve made it even easier to accomplish your tasks with Assistant — thanks, in large part, to your feedback. And in order to keep improving your experience and build the best Assistant yet, we’re making a few changes to focus on quality and reliability — ultimately making it easier to use Assistant across devices.

First, as we continue to make Google Assistant more helpful, we're prioritizing the experiences you love and investing in the underlying technology to make them even better — which means that some underutilized features will no longer be supported. You can find a list of these features, including suggestions of what you can use in place of them (where alternatives are available). Beginning on January 26, when you ask for one of these features, you may get a notification that it won’t be available after a certain date.

We’re also bringing you a more consistent experience within the Google app: The microphone icon will now trigger Search results in response to your queries, which is its most popular use case. You can continue to activate Assistant as you always have: Just say “Hey Google” or long press on the home or power button (on select phones) on Android, or open the Google Assistant app on iOS. But you’ll no longer be able to use the microphone icon in the Search bar to complete actions like “turn on the lights” or “send a message.” This includes the microphone in the Pixel Search bar, which will now activate Voice Search instead of Assistant. And to ensure you have access to the best, most up-to-date version of Google Assistant, you’ll be prompted to upgrade the Google app if you’re using an older version (v12 and older).

We know change can be disruptive, but we’ll do everything we can to make these transitions as smooth as possible. While Google Assistant has evolved a lot over the last seven years, one thing remains true: Our improvements are driven by your feedback. And we want to hear it. Just say, “Hey Google, send feedback” and share your comments with us.

Source: Changes we’re making to Google Assistant

Posted By: Brink
11 Jan 2024