The Most Useful Google Assistant Feature You’re Not Using

Ok Google, drop the beat

Afew months ago, folks at Google took the stage at its annual developer conference and announced numerous changes and additions to the Google Assistant. While news of its arrival on iOS accounted for the majority of attention, the search engine giant also introduced a couple of minor yet significant updates, and one of the most important ones is “shortcuts”.

Just like on every other interface, shortcuts on the Google Assistant allow you to execute lengthy commands in a jiffy. The process is quite straightforward as well – you set a quick keyword for a long phrase and interact normally. This can be, for instance, configuring “play the last added playlist on play music” as “drop the beat”. But that’s merely an example, shortcuts can drastically reduce the effort for talking to the virtual assistant especially if you’re someone who controls the entire home through it.

For setting up voice commands on the Google Assistant, first of all, make sure you have the latest Google app. Then, press and hold the home button or invoke the Assistant through any other method. Tap the little blue icon on the top right corner. Once you’re in, tap the three dots located on the top right corner and click settings. Scroll down to the bottom and you’ll find “shortcuts”.

To create a new shortcut, tap the plus button or you can choose from the already available shortcuts. While adding a new one, you’ll have two fields to fill. The first is the shortcut phrase and the other is the command you’d like the Assistant to process based on that. Once down, tap the save button and that’s it.

Additionally, Google has also added a bunch of more features to the Assistant including a history of your conversations accessible by clicking the little arrow icon, an explore tab and the option to type instead of speak.

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