Google Assistant Getting Started Guide: What It Is, How It Works, And What You Can Do With It

If you have been given a device based on Google Assistant, such as a Google Home and you have never used one, we bring you a little start guide so you can understand what it is and what you can do with it. We are going to try to explain things to you in a summarized way so that you do not spend too much time on these guides, and you can focus on enjoying your device.

We are going to start the article trying to explain in a brief and simple way what exactly this Google program is. Then, we will end by explaining you in a summarized way some of the main functions of this wizard, so you can start asking questions. Although the best thing is always that you dedicate yourself to look for new commands and functions, it may surprise you.

What is Google Assistant

Google Assistant or Google Assistant, is a virtual assistant created by the search engine’s company. This assistant works mainly by voice, so you will be able to ask him questions and he will tell you the answers. It is like asking Google itself questions, and for many of them you will have immediate answers. If you want to know the weather information of the city, you can ask him what the weather is like there and he will answer you.

The Google Assistant can be used on various sites. For example, you will be able to find it on an Android mobile phone, or even on iOS within the Google application. It is also integrated into other types of devices, from televisions to smart speakers, including headphones, and all devices connected to the Internet in which you see that on the box there is a badge with the logo of the assistant.

Therefore, it is an assistant that you will find in various types of device, allowing control with each other. In addition, it will be used on all devices with the same voice commands, although some may have a screen and offer the extra of displaying images in addition to spoken responses.

How the Google Assistant works

This assistant works based on specific voice commands, although for each function or type of information there may be several different ones. This means that you can’t ask the questions anyway To get certain types of information, you have to use specific formulas to do it.

For example, if you want to know if tomorrow it will be sunny in your city, it will not be enough to ask him Is it going to be sunny?. Instead, you will have to ask him something like What is the weather going to be tomorrow?. When faced with these questions, Google Assistant will use personal information such as your location to know which site you are referring to and give you an answer.

You always have to add another activation command to these commands. On some devices such as smart speakers, the speaker will always be listening, but the wizard will only be activated if you start the question with the command Ok Google, or another activation command that you configure. In addition, the assistant will be able to recognize your voice to understand you better.

The Google Assistant will need that link your google account to give you more accurate information related to your tastes and interests. It is also a source for information you need to function. Thus, all the devices where you have the same Google account linked will show you the same answers.

In cases where you don’t use a command that Google Assistant understands, then it will search for the question you have asked directly in Google, and it will tell you the results it finds in the search engine. These types of searches can be less precise, but useful when you are trying to know something specific. In addition, the assistant also has a guest mode that does not collect what you say or link it to your account.

Regarding the configuration, Google Assistant is easy to configure. The first time you configure a new Android mobile, you will also be asked to configure the assistant giving it access to your data or teaching it to recognize your voice. Then, configure a Nest Hub or other devices based on the assistant, you can do it directly from your mobile and the Google Home application, available and Google Play Android and the App Store of iOS.

What you can do with the Google Assistant

Google Assistant allows you to do many things, such as give yourself a daily summary of information with the command Hello. In addition to this, you can ask for separate pieces of information, such as the weather in your city, the results of your favorite team, or the latest news in general or on the subject you want, such as, Technology news.

You can also ask him to open applications that you have installed on your mobile, or to call other people with your phone, although you will have to say Llama accompanied by the name with which you have that person on your agenda, and thus not need to touch the mobile at all. You can also ask him Where I am to locate you on the map, or ask how to go to any city or place to show you the route on the map.

In the Google Home application you will be able to link your new devices to the Google account to be able to control them from the wizard. For example, you can link smart bulbs and then control them from the assistant, either with your mobile or with a smart speaker. And even at the wheel it can also help you with its driving mode.

In addition, you can also configure certain applications such as music streaming, in order to ask the assistant to start playing a song you like, a record or an artist. Come on, you can use Spotify from Google Assistant. You can even ask him what is playing so that he can listen to music where you are, and can try to tell you what it is.

You can also use the wizard to flip a coin, dice, or say a random number. You know, because there is no better innocent hand than the one that has no affinities. There is also a humor section. You can ask him to tell you a joke or sing you a song, but do not ask too much, because by asking this the assistant will look for the humor key.

As a curiosity, you will also be able to ask Google to call you by another name with the command Call me XXXX, although you can set the name by hand. It can also serve to find flights telling him to search for flights between certain cities that you must mention, or to read the latest emails you have received in Gmail, or activate mobile functions when you use it, such as the flashlight.

Also, if you are traveling or visiting a foreign friend or relative, you can use the assistant as an instant translator. This means that he listens, and translate what one or another person says in the two languages ​​that you have configured. You can translate in real time, in turns at the push of a button, or with whatever is being typed.

You can also add a second language, send WhatsApp messages, control the TV or use its ambient mode. It can even help you find your Android mobile. And if all this is not enough, you can also use the wizard routines, which allow configure your own custom actions. You will configure this from your mobile, so that when you say a certain command, the assistant performs an action that you have previously configured.

It also allows you to add events to the calendar with the command Add an event to Google Calendar to start the process, or set reminders with formulas like Remember me in five minutes turn off the TV. And since Google is always adding new features constantly, you have the command What do you know how to do to ask the assistant directly for other things he is capable of offering you.