Google now allows you to use your voice assistant in French without pronouncing “Okay Google” for certain interactions.
Last year, Google announced a major change for its voice assistant. For some tasks, it is no longer necessary to pronounce “Okay Google” Where “Hey Google” for the assistant to open his microphones and record the request. A way for the firm to streamline exchanges and allow simpler interactions between a user and his smartphone.
Nevertheless, the deployment in October had its limits and, in particular, a size limit. It was indeed only available for users in English, Japanese or German. It is therefore impossible to take advantage of it for a Google account with the assistant defined in French.
This is now the case as reported by the Android Police site. Google has indeed updated its forums this Friday to indicate that more languages are now taken into account to use Google Assistant without having to say “Okay Google” each time. Besides French (in Canada and France), Google has also added Spanish and Italian.
Of course, this does not mean that Google Assistant will never again need you to say “Okay Google” Where “Hey Google”. These keywords will always be necessary to wake up the assistant, to make it understand that you are addressing it and that it can therefore process the next request. Nevertheless, in some cases, this keyword may seem superfluous. On its support pages, Google gives some examples of when the keyword will no longer be needed: “For example, to snooze an alarm, say ‘Snooze’. To refuse a call by simple voice command, say “Refuse”.
A function limited to Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro
The other limit is however still present, since this so-called “quick expressions” feature is only offered on Google Assistant on the Google Pixel 6 and Pixel 6 Pro. It is therefore impossible to use it on a connected speaker such as a Google Nest Audio or a smartphone from another manufacturer.
Also, this feature is disabled by default. Users will therefore have to open the settings of their voice assistant, go to the option dedicated to quick expressions and choose the type of interactions for which it is no longer necessary to go through a keyword.
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